Selfies - They Are Out Of Control

I don't know about you, but all these Selfies being taken are just getting a bit much.  My friend Markie is out of control.  Also, not sure why everyone feels the need to either open their mouth, pop their eyes real wide or even better take off their clothes.  Really, do we need to see some of the pictures floating around on social media?  I think not.  Granted, there are some that are good - like the one at the Oscars.  But, I have to give kudos to the following selfie as it made me laugh and on hump day who does not need a good laugh!

Tuesday ~ A Fairy Tale

One Of My Favorite Flowers

A sure sign of spring

is when the Lilacs arrive!

Spring Cleaning

Sometimes it is not easy to find images that work for my various blog postings and this is one of those times.  None of the pictures really excited me, but this is at least a little perky.  So it all began yesterday when I was up way too early and decided to take the bull be the horns and get some long delayed chores out of the way.  Sorting drawers and dumping old stuff that I will never use and I know it.  Sure, for over 7 years now I have been sorting and letting go, but there have always been some of those things that I just know I will get to and never have and likely never will. 

When Damon arrives for his next visit, there are boxes of stuff to go out the door and it is really feeling freeing to get rid of a lot of the extra stuff.  Seeing parts of tables and opening up some of the cubes in the wall unit just gives a sense of space to the apartment.  The bathroom got a good work over and so did the bedroom.  And the funny thing is that I did it all just a little at a time and made phone calls in between and even took not one, but two naps. 

Earlier this year I had attacked the kitchen and so it was left pretty much untouched for now, but I am keeping an eye on what is getting used and what is not.  Going to be making a late brunch in a bit and then this evening's dinner will be some country style pork ribs.  With the sun going down late and later, I really have to be mindful of the time to not be eating too late.  I have noticed that by eating dinner by 6pm or so it makes for a better sleep in the end.  I do think another iced coffee is in order.  It has been a most productive morning.  Enjoy your Sunday.

Happy Anniversary Rob & Jodie

Monday marks their 2nd anniversary and so Rob whisked Jodie off to a castle for the weekend.  They will spend it at Menrosa Castle in Port Townsend.  They were married in a park in Port Townsend and so it is perfect that they are going to return to the scene of the crime - I mean celebration!

Pondering The Weekend

I have no idea what the picture above has to do with the weekend quite frankly, but when I did a Google search for images of the weekend, this was one of them and it made me laugh.  If anyone has any insights, please feel free to share.

As for my plans, a big fat nothing.  Heck, I may not need to even order groceries.  The past two weekends have been quite social so I am thinking that this one may be low key and just take time to enjoy the balcony and a movie or two.  Laundry is done and the dishes in the dishwasher just need to be put away.  So most of the chores are done and done.

Cooking will be pork ribs tomorrow and chicken on Sunday.  Have some shrimp and salmon in the freezer at this point.  I know I will not starve to say the least.  There is some leftover Roma tomatoes to get used up so may make a salad with blue-cheese dressing.  I also have my stash of tuna that is oh so good.  Brunch will be scrambled eggs and sausage one day while the other will be hash browns with Chow-chow on them plus some eggs.  My Grandmother used to make Chow-Chow and Dad loved it and put it on a lot of different thing.  Last Christmas I was surprised to see a jar of it in a package from friends in Kentucky.  What a welcome treat.  Don't know what Chow-Chow is?

Chow-chow (chowchow, chow chow) is a American pickled relish made from a combination of vegetables. Mainly green tomato, cabbage, chayote, red tomatoes, onions, carrots, beans, asparagus, cauliflower and peas are used. These ingredients are pickled in a canning jar and served cold.

Chow-chow has become regionally associated with the Southern United States, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, the Appalachian Mountains, and soul food. The recipes vary greatly; some varieties are sweeter than others. Pennsylvania chow-chow, known by the Wos-Wit brand, is generally much sweeter than the southern varieties. 

Some believe that Chow-chow found its way to the Southern United States during the expulsion of the Acadian people from Nova Scotia and their settlement in Louisiana. It is eaten by itself or as a condiment on fish cakes, mashed potatoes, biscuits and gravy, pinto beans, hot dogs, hamburgers and other foods. Others cite a connection to relish recipes of Chinese rail workers in the 1800s and Indian chutneys.

The term "chow-chow" is obscure. A possible source of the name is the ingredient chayote, which is itself known as chow chow in India. A very common Indian chutney (or thuvayal or thogayal) is made from chayote. The name is sometimes used interchangeably with Piccalilli (Indian pickle). It has also been suggested that it is based on the French word chou for cabbage; however, despite the geographic affinities as well as a similarity in the written forms, food nomenclature is mostly transmitted orally: the fundamental difference in pronunciation makes this a weak theory. Food historian Luis W. Fernandez claims a connection with Chinese cuisine as an origin.  **Thank you to Wikipedia for the information.

Big Bang Thursday

Tonight is one of my favorite shows on television, The Big Bang Theory.  They are currently in their 7th season and supposedly they have agreed to another three seasons.  Now mind you, none of the cast has signed any contracts so we will have to wait and see what happens.  But for now, here are 15 things you might not know about Big Bang Theory.

1. It took only one take for Cuoco and Galecki to film Penny professing her love for Leonard. "Kaley said to Johnny, 'I don't know about you, but when we started the scene, the cameras and the live audience all went away and it was just us,' " new showrunner Steve Molaro recalled, noting that he told both actors the shot was beautiful and he knew they'd never get anything better.

2. The spot-on Mrs. Wolowitz voice -- which again was present, as it is every year at Comic-Con -- isn't the only impression Melissa Rauch does on the show. Turns out Bernadette's actual voice is based on her mother. "Only without the Jersey! Tonally, it's very similar," she said.

3. Kunal Nayyar has his fingers crossed for Lucy (Kate Micucci) and Raj, but no matter what happens, he's glad to see his character evolve. "It's lovely to see him get to explore that side to himself, which has been amiss for so long," he said. "We can joke and laugh, but ultimately for him he really wants this. It's fun to see him vulnerable and to drop false sense of bravado. I don't know if he'll succeed, but it's really sweet."

4. When Sheldon punishes Amy (Mayim Bialik) with a spanking for faking illness in order to enjoy the ointment rub, it wasn't in the original script and was supposed to be off-screen. Parsons shared that there were three jokes -- a "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil" string of monkey scenes -- that ultimately were trimmed from the script one by one. "It was one of the hardest things we ever had to do because I found it tremendously amusing!" Parsons confessed, revealing that he had issues containing his laughter during production. "All week I was slapping that ass!" he joked. The bashful Bialik revealed that yep, her derriere was, indeed, red at the end of the taping. "There was some redness," she confessed. Added Parsons of his willing co-star, "You have no idea how game this one is for that!"

5. Sheldon's trademark "Bazinga!" originated with writer Stephen Engel, who would set up playful practical jokes around the writers room, including putting together a grapefruit with tape. "I'd open it up and Stephen would say, 'Bazinga,' " executive producer Bill Prady recalled. "It was Stephen's word for 'gotcha.' "

6. After featuring Leonard Nimoy and Stephen Hawking, the producers joked that their next dream guest star might be a bit too busy to make time for the CBS hit. "We've done some episodes about religion and science, and we thought Pope Francis might be good," Prady joked of Wednesday's newly elected pope. "He's probably too busy now."

7. The cast really is musically inclined. Bialik learned how to play the harp after it was decided that it was Amy's instrument of choice; and Parsons learned how to play the theremin, so when scenes call for them to play, they actually are. As for their skill levels, Parsons joked his inability brought him to tears. For his part, Galecki also plays the piano. Chimed in Cuoco, "And when Penny drinks, she's really drinking!"

8. Cuoco's sister, Bri, choreographed the cast's surprise flash mob to "Call Me Maybe" -- and it earned her a job on two of co-creator Chuck Lorre's shows. Bri Cuoco played the woman who earns a marriage proposal in the background of Big Bang's recent Valentine's Day episode and choreographed a scene with 50 dancers on Two and a Half Men.

9. Origins of "Soft Kitty" revealed! After struggling to find the perfect song for neurotic Sheldon's healing ritual, it was Prady who came up with the ditty. "It's from my daughter's preschool in Sherman Oaks," he revealed. "It was from Australia, and one of the teachers heard it there."

10. After going as Smurfs for Halloween, Rauch shared the lengthy, painful -- and humiliating -- experience of having the blue makeup removed. Her regular makeup artist and two assistants were helping to remove the Smurf from her body using hot towels. "It was getting late and I'm starting to fall asleep … and I lifted my legs up to get the rest of the makeup off and heard the guy laugh and thought, 'Oh, they're just telling jokes' and I looked in the mirror and thought, 'What's that?! Dear lord Jesus, that's my business!' I had totally exposed myself! I put my legs down and just said to them, 'Long night!' " she said to laughs from the sold-out Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills. "That is the tale of my Smurfette."

11. Lorre is the brains behind evil Wil Wheaton, but it was Star Trek fan Prady who had to make the call and break the news to the actor. "I didn't know this guy, and I had to call him and say, 'So you're playing yourself ... but you're a real dick!' " he said. "Will loved it."

12. That wasn't the only embarrassing conversation Prady had to have with a Star Trek alum. During a scene when Howard (Simon Helberg) has a dream about Katee Sackhoff, producers toyed with the idea of having George Takei do some voice work. "We wrote a line of Howard saying, 'I'm so confused,' and thought it'd be really funny if George Takei said, 'Confused? Perhaps I can help.' " Prady revealed. "How do I say to this guy that he's a possible homosexual fantasy? Finally I said, 'So you know you're gay, right?!' and he said, 'That's news I'll tell my husband!' "

13. Sheldon's Meemaw (his maternal grandmother) could show up. "We've talked about it, and I certainly wouldn't rule it out," Molaro said. "I don't know how she'd feel about Amy."

14. What has Helberg learned from playing the lovable but style-challenged Howard? "I've learned the smallest pants size I can squeeze into!" he joked of Howard's colorful skinny jeans. As for his favorite belt buckle, it's anything that isn't sharp in the southern section that won't stab him when he sits down. "Sitting down is painful!" he joked.

15. When a nerdy fan in the audience asked the cast for dating advice, Cuoco spoke from Leonard and Penny's experience. "Keep knocking on your neighbor's door because eventually she's going to open it," she said to Parsons' immediate disapproval. "That's terrible advice!" he deadpanned.

Hump Day Humor

A friend posted this on facebook and it just had me laughing this morning.  That is something I really needed as it has been an interesting week.  Thankful it is the midpoint and the weekend is going to be all mine!

Yup, It's Earth Day

Earth Day is April 22 every year. On average (jumping over leap years and such), between subsequent Earth Days our planet moves about 940 million kilometers (580 million miles), the circumference of its orbit around the Sun. That means it’s faster—way faster—than a speeding bullet: about 30 km/sec (18 miles/sec)! Typical rifle bullets travel 1-2 km/sec, so the Earth outpaces them handily.

It’s not a small world after all. The surface area of the Earth is about 510 million square kilometers, or 197 million square miles. It’s not a perfect sphere, but if it were, using the surface area to find the Earth’s diameter would give you a ball 12,742 km (7,900 miles) across.

Earth has something no other planet we know of has: a lot of water on the surface. It’s about 71 percent water by area, dominated by the Pacific Ocean, which covers a staggering 155.6 million square km (60 million square miles) of the surface. That’s nearly a third of the planet.

Water exists naturally in all three physical states on Earth’s surface: solid (ice), liquid, and gas (water vapor). Due to a peculiar property of water—called its triple point—it can even exist in all three states at the same location and time. So now when things go wrong, you can say, “Well it could be worse: It could be raining and snowing and steaming!”

So there you go, just a few tidbits about our home.  Enjoy the day.

Presidential Visit

President Barack Obama will visit Washington state tomorrow, Tuesday, to mark the grim one-month anniversary since a devastating mudslide killed dozens.  The death toll from the landslide on the outskirts of the town of Oso has risen to 41, authorities said Monday.  Obama will tour the area and meet with rescue crews and victims' relatives.

The rain-saturated hillside along the Stillaguamish River gave way on March 22, unleashing walls of mud that swallowed up roads and homes outside Oso.  Crews have dug through mud, logs and debris 70 feet thick in some places to search for the missing.  It will be a brief visit, but a noted one.

Happy Easter!

Enjoy the day however you observe it!

Hello Weekend

Ah yes, the weekend arrived a bit early and Tim's flight was on time.  He was not hungry on Thursday evening and since I was in prep mode for the next morning I was not at all pushing food.  The rain was a downpour when he got in but faded by sunset.  He enjoyed some wine but we did have an early evening as the morning would be here all too soon.  And it was.  Off to the Polyclinic and the procedure was done and I was home just a bit after noon.  Slept the afternoon away and to save too many details - we can report that all is well. 

Having not eaten in 24 hours, I was pretty hungry and Tim was hankering for Indian food so we ordered in.  It was a place called Garam Masala and following is what we had for dinner - quite the selection and thanks to Tim for picking up the tab.

 

First up was a couple of appetizers.  Vegetable Samosas which are crispy patties stuffed with peas, potatoes and spices.  There are two per order and they are huge and quite filling.  Served with a mint yogurt sauce.

Next appetizer was Aloo Tiki which is potatoes cake spiced and fried and served with temraind and mint chutnies.  Very dense and not my favorite.  Had a taste and left the rest.

The final appetizer was by far my favorite.  Gobi Pakora are deep fried and oh my.  They are cauliflower pieces mixed in spices, battered, and fried.  We almost came to blows over who got how many.  I gave him my extra Aloo Tiki and I do think I got the better deal!

Naan and Roti served as the vessel for a lot of the food.  The Tandoori Breads are baked vertically a tandoori (clay oven).  Naan is a leavened bread and Roti is very similar but whole wheat.

I found out another staple of Indian cuisine is rice.  In this case Tim decided to add a little variable to the mainstay.  Plain Indian basmati rice and green peas.  I can see that while I enjoy Indian food, I will need to be careful as it is so very carb centric. 

Chicken Tikka Masala was the first of the main courses.  Again, high approval of this dish.  Addictive would be a good word to describe.  Cubes of white meat Tandoori style, cooked in a rich creamy tomato sauce. 

And then there was  Palak Paneer which was Tim's favorite and I was more than happy to let him have as much as he wanted.  Yes I did have a taste, but a small one and glad I did.  Home-made cheese cubes mixed with a lightly cooked spinach sauce.

Dal Makhani is a dish that Tim insisted we get and in the end it was the dish that was not touched.  Not sure why, it just kind of happened.  Tender homemade cheese simmered butter with tomatoes and a creamy sauce.

Now many of you know I am not a curry person.  Don't hate it, but I do not go out of my to eat it either.  Especially Thai curry.  But Tim told me to just give it a try.  Chicken Curry was quite good.  Chicken cooked in onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and exotic spices.

And last but  not least, Channa Masala which was the first item I tried.  Chickpeas cooked with tomatoes, onions, ginger and garlic, tossed with fresh coriander leaves.  Was not really excited, but in the end quite surprised at how good it was.







So there you go folks, our Indian dinner and there was enough left over to be lunch today as well.  Heck, I think there still is some left over after lunch.  Tonight I am making a shrimp dinner.  And oh my has the vino been flowing.  It has been a lazy and yet relaxing weekend.  Cheers!

Yes, It Is Friday

OK, time to fess up.  With this program I can go in and predate or postdate a blog post.  Case in point is yesterday.  I was able to get caught up on Wednesday and then post Thursday on time.  Knowing that I was going to be having a procedure today that was going to have me out of commission I decided to get today's post out of the way. 

Also, I knew it was Good Friday and so not the best time to put up a big TGIF image of sorts.  I did find a fun cartoon (above) that does describe the week in its' own way.  But, truth be told, I think for me - today will be more like a Monday, but at least I have the weekend to recoup from the day.  So know that this was done prior to anything happening and I do plan to pop in and post over the weekend pending what is going on with my friend Tim's visit. 

Weekend Surprise Guest - Sort Of

This evening my friend Tim is arriving from Los Angeles.  He is coming up for a weekend since he has to use up a flight voucher before it expires.  This is the guy who got me to interview for the job out in Boston.  Well, that was last spring about this time.  In June, his company consolidated and he was out of a job.  Applied around and got a position in Los Angeles.  Quite a change.  Reminds me of when I moved from Portland to Dallas and then on to New York City. 

 

Well, he asks if he can come up for the holiday weekend and I have no plans so sure.  We are talking away and he is planning to come up Friday, but flights were thin picking so he opted to fly in tonight.  Well, that was a wonderful thing in the end as I get to have a right of passage to adulthood tomorrow.  I get to have a colonoscopy.  Oh joy.  So he gets in this afternoon and I will pick him up and then homeward we go as I get to go through the pre-preparation for tomorrow's procedure.  I have been told it is not a fun thing at all.

 

Then, tomorrow he will drive me to and from my appointment as I have been instructed that it is not an option for me to do.  Very nice of him to agree to do this.  From what others have told me, by tomorrow late afternoon I should be fine.  That will allows us to have a couple of days prior to his Sunday afternoon departure.  The weather is not looking great, but I do plan to order in Indian food tomorrow as that is one of his favorites.  Figured it was the least I could do after what he is doing to help me out. 

 

He is not a big tourist type of guy and so may take a ferry ride or head off to the mountains.  Heck, maybe watch movies.  Who knows.  What I do know is that he likes to be spontaneous and so not going to do a whole lot of preplanning on this one and just let it unfold as it may.  What I do know is that there will be no ham cooked for Easter Sunday as he does not eat pork or beef.  I believe he said he eats nothing with a hove.  When I asked why - he said it is due to the amount of energy the body needs to digest it.  Interesting concept.  Bring on the seafood! 

Where Oh Where Is It Spring?

Seriously, this has been one crazy year for weather.  Got a text message from my friend Connie back in New Jersey showing snow on the ground there.  Talking to my staff I found out that outdoor volleyball was canceled yesterday in Minneapolis and in Chicago they have 3" of snow with more forecast.  Here in Seattle we had our wettest March on record only to be followed with a quite dry April.  Alas, that will be put to rest over the next couple of days with all the rain coming in.  Just today we doubled the monthly rain total for the city.

Now, if you head south, talking to Damon in Las Vegas it is in the 90's and Phoenix, AZ hot over a 100 already.  No, it could not be anything close to do with climate change, it is just nature happening - right?  Hardly.  We have mucked up the planet so much we are in for a heap of trouble in the coming years and sadly, while we have come around a bit, a huge part of the planet does not seem to care.  Look only to India and China - they are following in all of our mistakes.  OK, time to get off my weather high horse!  Happy hump day to all.

It's Tax Day

Yes, I got to pay this year - oh joy!

Lisa Heaton and Jeff Samiljan Got Engaged

Two good friends had a very nice weekend. 
The pictures tell it all.

 

Snap!

A friend is in Colorado where they had the World Beer Cup this past week.  She posted these on facebook and it just caught my eye.  A beer bottle made out of old instamatic cameras.  What a "back to the future" moment to say the least.  It's a beautiful day today here in Seattle and so not going to take a lot of time on the posting.  Going to head out and do one of my favorite things - a ferry ride.  Then on to Markie's for dinner.  Cheers!

Indeed It Has Been 2 Years

Today marks the two year mark of getting out of the hospital after 93 days.  It was the 2nd Saturday in April that Janet, my sister, came and got me from the rehabilitation unit and we slowly made our way home.  Oh my how times does fly.  When I think back to those days of being on oxygen and using a wheelchair around the apartment and beyond.  Things have changed.  In no way can I say it has been smooth sailing, but things are changing and improving. 

I've moved, Mom celebrated her 90th birthday last May, I am still working at E&A, Damon has become a major force in my life, Janet and I text a whole lot more than we used to, eating has gotten a lot more healthy plus a whole lot more.  The number of prescriptions has dropped dramatically while I finally was able to get on a steady weight loss path. 

There is a greater sense of contentment and I am more accepting of what is going on.  I have noticed over the past few months that I am steering away more from all the news I used to just love to absorb.  It is all so depressing and the landslide that happened last month was the last straw for me as all the stations raced to have the most coverage and "exclusives" about different angles.  It just got to be too much.  So now I watch one half hour of national news in the evening and then catch headlines in the morning along with traffic and weather.  Enough and I can always go online to infill as needed.

Yes, 2 years is a long time and yet it feels like the blink of an eye.  And on that note I wish you all a very good weekend.

Friday Miscellaneous

Hello there and welcome to the weekend.  It has been a long week and so glad I will be joining those on weekend mode in just a few minutes.  This week has seen several things announced or changed according to my past blog postings and so in the spirit of full disclosure I thought I would take a minute and share what I have learned.  First up, last week David Letterman announced he was going to retire next year from doing "The Late Show" on CBS. 

It took less than a week for the network to announce that Stephen Colbert would be his replacement.  I think it is a really cool thing, but I have to admit, I am going to miss "The Colbert Report" on Comedy Central.  From reports, we still get to enjoy his current show for 8 more months.  It appears he is going to not maintain his character once he makes the move and so it will be interesting to see how much of one side of him comes out in the other.

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that yesterday was the celebration of the 50th anniversary of "It's A Small World" and it proved to be quite the celebration, as only Disney can pull off.  Composer Richard Sherman, who wrote the song with his late brother Robert, was on hand at Disneyland to conduct a sing-along, which was at all five Disney resorts, including Orlando, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Paris.

“And that’s what it’s all about; it’s a small world, after all,” Sherman said. “Let’s not kill each other.”
Park visitors around the world participated in the sing-along at SmallWorld50.com, where fans can record videos of themselves singing the song and create virtual dolls to benefit UNICEF.

So there you go, it is now off to a weekend of Catan with Jodie and Rob plus we are going to have a bagel nosh lunch for a change of pace.  Sunday will see me motoring south to Markie's for a delayed dinner from last week as I had the toe incident.  BTW, it is doing much better thank you for asking.  So enjoy the weekend folks and Cheers!

Thursday Thoughts

Well, if they have not, consider it done by me.  I am sitting here thinking of all the awesome people in my life and just how lucky I am.  We do get caught up in complaining at times, but when the dust clears, it is the memories that linger on.  Thankfully, more times than not, it is the positive ones that stay to the front and center. 

Being hat it is Friday Eve I am really looking forward to this weekend and having a chance to see some people I have not seen in a while.  Rob & Jodie are going to likely pop over on Saturday and then heading south to see Markie for dinner on Sunday.  At least that is the plan as I did not get to see him last week due to the toe, which is getting better by the day.  The weekend weather is supposedly to be quite spring like and that is a good thing.

Ah yes, I even get to tackle the taxes and a few other computer based errands this weekend, so hopefully be able to swing the balcony door open and enjoy a bit of the spring sun - but not too much, as many of you know I am not a huge fan of the sun.  But in the early days of spring I am not one to complain too much.  Hope that your Thursday is going smashingly well and that makes looking forward to tomorrow all the better.

Tulip Time

Fields of flowers around the Dutch town of Lisse turn the landscape into a patchwork quilt of bright colors at this time of year.  Tulips have been grown in the Netherlands since the 16th century, when they were imported from the Ottoman Empire. The tulip season runs from March until August.  So while we are all excited about tulip time up in Skagit Valley, they are all the more stunning over in Holland.

On This Day In 1879...

Milk is sold in glass bottles for the first time.  So here is a little bit of history for you.  Before milk bottles, milkmen filled the customers' jugs. For many collectors, milk bottles carry a nostalgic quality of a bygone age. The most prized milk bottles are embossed or pyroglazed (painted) with names of dairies on them, which were used for home delivery of milk so that the milk bottles could find their way back to their respective dairies.

It is not clear when the first milk bottles came into use. However, the New York Dairy Company is credited with having the first factory that produced milk bottles, and one the first patents for a milk container was held by the Lester Milk Jar.  There are many other similar milk containers from around this period, including the Mackworh Pure Jersey Cream crockery type jar, the Manorfield Stock Farm, the Manor, the Pa glass wide mouth jar, and the Tuthill's Dairy Unionville, NY.

Lewis P. Whiteman holds the first patent for a glass milk bottle with a small glass lid and a tin clip. The next earliest patent is for a milk bottle with a dome type tin cap and was granted September 23, 1884 to Whitemen's brother, Abram V. Whiteman.  This bottle has been found with cream line marks and is very valuable. The Whiteman brothers produced milk bottles based on these specifications at the Warren Glass Works Company in Cumberland, Maryland and sold them through their New York sales office.

Thanks to Wikipedia for this information and that boys and girls is your milk lesson for the day.  Oh and by the way, today is the home opener for the Seattle Mariner's and it looks like the roof will be closed due to rain.  And that is so Seattle.

The Royals Down Under

The 8-month-old Royal Baby made his third public appearance while in his mom Kate’s arms as the family stepped off their private plane in Wellington, New Zealand. Prince George’s first appearance was when he and his family left the hospital a few days after he was born.

Unfortunately, the family’s flight was delayed, but thankfully that didn’t seem to affect Prince George who seemed unphased that he had just spent over 30 hours on a plane. He even waved excitedly as Kate carried him across the tarmac. What an adorable and well-behaved little guy he is!

While Duchess Kate carried Prince George, Prince William was in charge of carrying his toys — including a stuffed kangaroo! It’s nice to see that even royals aren’t off the hook when it comes to daddy duty. 

It also appears as if Prince George has inherited his mother’s fashion sense as well. Wearing a cardigan and white shorts along with a pair of tiny ivory shoes, the adorable baby was ready to tour the town in style.

Special Thanks to Hollywoodlife.com for this information and photo.

Not Quite The Day I Had Planned

So what was to be a relatively mild Sunday ended up being anything but that.  It was a perfectly quiet Sunday with plans to do taxes and then in the early evening I would motor south and have dinner with Markie plus Mick & Bret.  The morning unfolded just as it should with a few phone calls and a late brunch.  After eating I realized I needed to empty the dishwasher in order to put in the dirty dishes.  Alas, near the end of the unloading process a glass slipped out of my hand and crashed to the floor.  In the process a shard of glass found my big toe and cut it quite noticeably.  Not good.

Thus, I am now in the middle of my kitchen, surrounded by glass and of course, this is when I realize I have no broom.  [Yes, yes, I am going to be having one on my next grocery order] With few options at hand I finally make the dreaded 911 call.  Within minutes the paramedics have arrived and thankfully the basket on top of the frig was long enough for me to reach over and unlock the front door.  After additional scolding from the paramedics in a light friendly way [Seriously, you do not have a broom?] it is determined that the cut, while significant, does not warrant stitches, but rather they used the butterfly kind to hold it together followed by some additional bandaging. 

One of the paramedics was rather cute and so that made things better.  The three of them cleaned things up quite nicely and leaving me with some Tylenol 3 pills departed.  I pulled the big foam cushion out of the closet and elevated my leg for the balance of the day.  Yes, it did throb a bit and I did use 4 of the 6 pills they left.  Took several naps and in the end accepted that I can get taxes done next weekend and confirmed with Markie for a future dinner engagement. 

My sister made a good suggestion and that is that I plan to ring my doctor in the morning so they know what is going on.  And so that is how my Sunday went sideways all too quickly.  Cheers!

Daffodil Time

A true sign of Spring!

Good Night Dave...

Yesterday, David Letterman announced his retirement from "The Late Show..." and already people are starting to wonder why and who will replace him.  Why?  We knew it was coming for sometime as he only did a one year extension on his contract last year.  Also, Jimmy Fallon has been doing a stunning job in the ratings department since he took over "The Tonight Show" in February.  As to who?  Well...The NY Daily News wasted no time on sharing its' Top 10 list:

David Letterman is irreplaceable, but someone must step into his shoes in 2015 to take the reigns. In the spirit of CBS’ long-running late night talk show, here’s our own Top Ten list of people who should replace Letterman:

10. Jon Stewart — The host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” has long been considered a favorite to take over Letterman’s gig.

9. Chris Rock — Arguably one of the funniest comedians on the planet, and he’s already hosted his own HBO show in the past.

8. Conan O’Brien — He’s got the chops. He’s got the talent. He needs to get off cable so people can find him again.

7. Larry David — One of the funniest comedy writers of all time. Although he might yank out what little hair he has left the first time a stupid pet trick goes awry.

6. Louis C.K. — Another top comic, with serious talent. And he’s one heck of a talker.

5. Craig Ferguson — As CBS’ longtime late late guy, he’s made no secret that he’s long coveted his boss’ job.

4. Chelsea Handler — She’s funny, smart, acerbic and soon to be unemployed. Handler will be wrapping up her current E! late night talk show, “Chelsea Lately,” at the end of the year.

3. Tina Fey & Amy Pohler — They host the Golden Globes, and they cut their teeth doing late night comedy on “Saturday Night Live,” so the pair would obviously make incredible late night TV hosts, if only CBS could pry them away from NBC. You know, like the network did with Letterman.

2. Jerry Seinfeld — He’s a smooth talker, a funny guy and he knows how to work clean. And Jerry already has a hit talk show on the Web, “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.”

And the number one person to replace David Letterman is...

1. Jay Leno — He’s unemployed, and we know he gets ratings.

Finally Friday Eve!

The week has been a blur.  I cannot believe it is already Friday Eve!  The weekend will be more than welcome.  While last weekend was one that was fully relaxing and much needed, this weekend has a series of social engagements.  Markie is home from his trip to Istanbul and a few other cities.  He has invited me to dinner on Sunday.  The past couple of times we have gotten together, it has been at my place.  Thus, he wants to host.  Who am I to deny that.  

 

Sadly, Mark - the owner - is back to some of his old antics.  Thus, I prefer to duck and cover and get by.  It is sad to see the roller coaster effect and to think I have only had my job threatened three times this week.  I feel lucky.  I do try and keep perspective and my sleep has not been interrupted by all the antics.  If that starts to be invasive, then there will be issues to be discussed.  I keep trying to figure out how it must feel to be despised by so many people. 

 

Thus, on days like these I need to find a happy place.  Thinking about the train station in Portland makes me happy.  I have come in and out of that station many a times.  Below is a great picture of the train station.  It brings back many fond memories of Portland.

On the food front, I have been quite zealous in maintaining my new 5 meal food plan and the frig in my office is helping that.  I have been eating my fruits and vegetables and that is a good thing.  Trying out some new combinations.  Chicken has been a default for me along with salmon and thus I am trying to spread my wings.  Being a bit more creative and that makes for some interesting combinations. 

 

Damon has been more than amusing on the phone this week and we even had a video chat on Sunday.  He was all weepy about seeing me live.  Too funny.  He is having his surgery soon and will be blind for about a week.  That is going to be an interesting experience for him.  He is so  ready to get out of Las Vegas.  Been there not even two weeks.  But hey, he does make a chunk of change there and so he does tolerate. 

Has It Really Been A Decade?

It is amazing to think of how time flies.  It was back in April, 2004 that a dear friend Ani who wrote a book on the life and work of Sinan Diaryz.  It was an amazing experience and we visited so many different places.  Additionally, after we finished a couple of weeks in Turkey it was off to France for a trip that can only be referred to as a true 'Sacre Bleu' moment.  Just don't get me started on that experience.  I was really taken by the various tile patterns that you saw everywhere and I have a really cool plate that has the design of tile work.  In full credit, the two photos on this post come from Mark Souder who was just in Istanbul.

Be Mindful Today

You just never know what might happen on a day like today.  It is fun to see jokes done in the spirit and laughter, but then there are those that just do not go off so well.  I understand that on CBS Drew Carey hosted The Late, late show with Craig Ferguson while today Craig Ferguson is hosting The Price Is Right.  That is clever.  However you decide to celebrate, do be safe and keep it fun!