Pre-Game St. Patty's Day (updated to include more pics)

Top of the mornin' to ya. I thought we'd get a wee bit of St. Patty's Day celebratin' off to a good ol' start before the day arrived. Not sure how this is going to work, but let's try out a little bit of me new acquired skills: Since I lack a digital camera, I have to rely on what other people have posted at the moment... And let me state that I'm a little less stressed about this coming Saturday since my one boss told me that they won't be having no bullocks this year. All incoming celebrators will be filtered upon entry. That means that anyone already pretty drunk or with intent of becoming extremely intoxicated will NOT be welcome through our doors. That will affect my finances a wee bit, but I think I'd rather make sure this St. Patty's Day is a mild one with less problems that a wee bit wealthier of one with lots of violent eruptions, chaos, and possible involuntary digestive projections. I will do my best to get some photos, but we might have to settle for the ones my cell phone takes if I can't find any of my myspace friends at the bar with their camera's. But to add some other photo's, here's one that a customer took with a disposable camera and scanned and sent to me... Gotta love photobucket!!! Oldnovice update: I deleted or fixed what most of us couldn't see above, and now add a photo of No. 2 on THIS year's St. Patrick's Day (as well as some of her and some other Davidson's crew): The green hair wouldn't work, but the overall effect was great! /Oldnovice update Oh, on another note, I've come to realize that even though my roommate and I are total opposites, we are definitely the ying to each other's yang. We seem to be different in so many ways, but when we come together we find total harmony and seem to balance each other out. Hoo-rah for my best friend and hetereosexual lifemate! :) Definitely time for bed. xoxo

Spring is springing; plays are playing.

Attended two Tarrant County College plays over the weekend. Rhinoceros was just as silly as you’d think it would be, played by the cast of TCC NE supplemented by Dr. Tony Medlin, who’s been acting since before most of the cast was born. The role of Jean went to Trent Meyer, who did a fabulous job of transforming from human to rhinoceros on stage. We found this play MUCH more enjoyable than the fare we’d attended at UTA the previous weekend. I would have thought it the most enjoyable play of the season, but … Dames At Sea, a delightful musical performed by the cast of TCC NW, stole my heart. The song/dance/satire moved along so smoothly that I forgot I was watching students; even the scenery was top-notch. My favorite moment, however, was watching Treeva Phillips sing while sitting on the edge of the stage about two feet from me. She’s a cute little thing with a beautiful voice, reminding me of Rowena in Mr. Holland’s Opus. Now that Spring has sprung, spring break trims down our local entertainment options. Is Spring in the air where you live? What are y’all doing for fun?

Hot Cross Buns, etc.

Em remembers Hot Cross Buns being made (and sold) in Illinois between Ash Wednesday and Easter. ONE store around here advertised them for sale on Fat Tuesday. Since then, we've seen nothing offered in the stores. It seems that SOME cultures only eat them on Good Friday, so I'll look for them in the local stores around that time. Took some pictures of the ones I made. Here they are unglazed (fresh from the oven): You can see the carved cross above, but the next step is to apply a glaze to the carved cross. I've heard that some bakers fill the cross with custard, but I haven't seen that. I used commercial frosting to make the crosses for the following photo, because the glaze melts immediately on the hot buns and we do want hot cross buns. The lore behind the buns vary as much as the words for the song by the same name. Here are some guesses: Legend has it that hot cross buns were part of pagan spring festivals, and that a pious monk incised the buns with the sign of the cross in honor of Christ's resurrection. They are now traditionally eaten on Good Friday. : : : : : : : : : Hot crossed buns. "At the feast to Eastre, an ox was sacrificed and the image of his horns carved into ritual bread - which evolved into the twice-scored Easter biscuits we call 'hot cross buns.' In fact, the word 'bun' derives from the Saxon for 'sacred ox,' 'boun.'" Sacred Origins of Profound Things. A cross bun kept from one Good Friday to the next was thought to bring luck, the buns were supposed to serve as a charm against shipwreck, and hanging a bun over the chimneypiece ensured that all bread baked there would be perfect. Another belief was that eating hot cross buns on Good Friday served to protect the home from fire. [If you see a bun hanging from my chimneypiece (wherever that is), you'll know why ] Hot Cross Bun THESE BUNS ARE made especially for Easter and are documented to have existed before the advent of Christian Easter celebrations. These were made as cakes from wheat which was used in Pagan Spring festivals. The buns were traditionally made on Good Friday in the Christian church with the dough kneaded for the Host and therefore marked with a cross to indicate this. These buns/cakes were also believed to have many special properties including the curing of certain illnesses (See also Mystical WWW Mystical Plants). They were also believed to last twelve months without turning mouldy which was of great use during Pagan times when the storage of food was imperative for survival. It was believed that they would protect against evil forces and fire if hung in the kitchen. Sailors believed that hot cross buns would protect against shipwreck if taken to sea. Farmers in certain parts of England (UK) also believed that they would protect the granary against rats. THE ANCIENT GREEKS made a similar type of bun called a 'bous' with horns dedicated to Apollo, Diana, the Moon and Hecate. It too was said to never go moldy and to have mystical powers. The shape of the bun was said to represent the moon whilst the four quarters divided on the top of the bun represented the four quarters of the year. Good Friday comes this month : the old woman runs. With one a penny, two a penny 'hot cross buns', Whose virtue is, if you believe what's said, They'll not grow moldy like the common bread.' Poor Robin's Almanac, 1733. We had fun on Monday of this week attending offerings for both Black History Month and Women's History Month. <-- Did you know March is Women's History Month? First, we were served a light lunch while we listened to two of these guys in the bottom-left photo and another guy on drums play traditional African music. The Cora (Kora) is a fascinating instrument and Dave Gilden has pretty much devoted his life to it. After they played, we watched traditional African dance. In the evening, we attended a reception combination kick-off for Women's History Month and a Women's Art Show where we were fed again and entertained by female musicians. 'twas a fun free day! We'll need to pay a little for our March entertainment, though. I have five plays lined up, as well as a symphony concert. I'm squeezing in as much as I can before Em returns to Race Track duty in April. I also have dates with Richard and Bill this month. :-( Update: Made some beautiful hamburger buns this evening for BBQ beef sandwiches. MMMM! 'snew wit' ch'all?

Happy Valentine's Day

Here is the cake I made for everyone at work. This is my favorite holiday!!! Just because it's one day you can tell everyone you care about that you love them and there's no obligation to do anything. That's why I chose this day to do something for everyone I care about. LOVE YOU!!! And hope you have a sweet, sweet Valentine's day!!!

This new blogger is blowing my mind, so from now on, EVERY thread is an open thread where you can talk about whatever you want!

Can't say I'm fond of this blogger update, AT ALL.

Life's a whirl to me lately; I can't keep up sometimes, it seems. <-- my excuse for not updating the blog sooner. January was VERY fun. No. 2 came to visit us here in Texas and went to the gym with us. No. 1 went with us, as well, and has continued to go with us even after No. 2 flew home. We're really enjoying our gym time; THAT's for sure! Em and I also got married on the 17th: We HAD more pictures of the wedding, but they so closely resembled Denzel/Angelina that we figured we'd bore the net audience if we continued to post them. No. 2 left for LV the day after our wedding and we left for LV just a few days afterward (none of this was pre-planned), and she bought us tickets to see Le Reve . She couldn't have chosen a better gift for us, as Em and I BOTH loved the show. Thank you, No. 2! She also did a good job feeding us at the Wynn after the show, but I don't want to make too much of her doing that because my other two children might think that I'm only pleased when my kids spend lots of money on me and (while that might be true), I don't want the other two kids to know (if you get my drift!). (big grin) Back at the Texas ranch(cough!), we found ourselves in February. 68 degrees this past week outside while some of y'all in Illinois had schools close due to snow! Newly incorporated into our routine is a once/month mid-day outing to a local activity via a cheap, interesting place to eat lunch. February's offering is Scotty's Deluxe Diner in Haltom City, TX. It's a one $ place that has breakfast all day long, endless cups of coffee, and friendly servers. We each got blue-plate specials for $4.99 minus 10% just for being old. and when it was almost time to leave, I saw Denzel(in a silly hat): We stopped at the diner on our way to an exhibit of 150 photos from "This Great Nation Will Endure" Photographs of the Great Depression. The collection in its entirety is 80,000, but we saw 150 of the most popular, most intense at Tarrant County College, Northeast Campus. We spent about 3 hours there viewing these 150 photos. I can't imagine how long we might spend viewing the 80,000 if they were ever made available for viewing. We thought it worthwhile, for sure. If any of you are in the area, I think you'd think it worthwhile, as well, or you can view them online: Photos. Are y'all havin' fun?

Happy New Year 2007! This is an open thread, so talk about whatever you want.

I'm into new for this thread. No. 1 has a new boyfriend, Daniel, who sent her flowers to arrive before she did on her trip to Illinois for Christmas. I ran into the new owner of my folks' house in Chicago while I was in Illinois. Seemed the guy I'd assumed was a city worker noticed me taking pictures of his house, saying, "I'm over here if you're looking for me!" I spun around and took his picture with the neighbor he was helping bag leaves. Once he learned who I was, he told me that he'd been waiting YEARS for me to return and see what they'd done to the place. He mentioned how he'd not wanted to buy it because it needed so much work, but how his wife loved it. He'd thought they'd stay there 4 or 5 years max, but 16 years later, his wife is still in love with the place. THAT's house-love. He gave me the tour of the inside, as well. Remember the frontroom where you played each morning, children? Kitchen: Back porch: My folks' bedroom became an office at the front of the house upstairs: In other news closer to home, Em and I are taking advantage of how our new health club is smack-dab between Forth Worth and Dallas near the road that connects the two. New on our agenda: outings to places of interest (including lunch at places of interest) at least once/month. In December, 2006 we saw the Hatshepsut exhibit after lunch at The Montgomery Cafe: When you come down, No. 2, we're gonna take you to the club followed by lunch at The Angry Dog, followed by a visit to the Women's Museum in Dallas. We don't know if we'll like any of that, but that's the whole point of doing new stuff in a new year, right? What's new with y'all?

Happy Birthday, Th3yungin!!!!

24 years. Have you noticed yet that time flies whether you're having fun or not? Hope your day is a great one. Love, Mom

Thanksgiving/Christmas Illinois 2006 photo op.

First trip to No. 2's apartment this past week revealed that it has SEVEN doors. Once inside, I felt like I was in one of those Science Fiction movies where the escape from the maze is through THIS door...or maybe THAT door. Pick the wrong door and you go down the rabbit-hole. I had a good time there; despite the small size, the place has great warmth and character (like its residents). We had brunch and dinner there on Thanksgiving Day. Silly-O (pictured) brought deviled eggs, which were scrum! Saturday after Thanksgiving, No. 2 and I checked out some downtown Chicago activities like Christkindlmarket (a German Christmas tradition). She bought a cashmere scarf from this particular vendor. We also checked out the ice-skating in Millenium Park. I was VERY glad we hadn't planned on engaging in that particular activity. Inbetween visits with No. 2 et al, I spent some quality time with my oldest friends in the Chicago area. Always great to see them! Got a call from the mysterious unidentified uncle while there; how great is THAT? He's doin' fine. Here, we'd taken a little trip to see B'Hai temple. Last (final) stop was back to see the tree at No. 2's. As they say, "From our house(s) to yours!"

Wow...it's been WEEKS since a new thread. Busy time of year. What are your Thanksgiving Plans? Open thread.

I can't even remember all the things we've done since the Halloween thread. Perhaps the most disappointing thing that DIDN'T get done was the holiday cookie baking. That will need to wait until I get back from Chicago. I'll be spending Thanksgiving week in Illinois with No. 2, Thyungin, and my oldest friends, Bob and Judy. I'd had such high hopes of showing up on doorsteps bearing cookies; where does the time go? I just finished creating a document for Em and No. 1 regarding how to find stuff to eat for a week while I'm gone, along with sample menus. I've known about this trip for a while, so purchased a few more "easy to prepare" items, so it was just to point them to where things are. Kroger sent Em a coupon for a free turkey, so they need to eat some of the frozen "easy to prepare" stuff that I've moved to the kitchen freezer to make room for the stuff they need to move from the garage freezer to free up space for a turkey in the garage freezer. They'll both spend Thanksgiving Day at the homes of family/friends here in Texas. I'll be spending Thanksgiving Day at the apartment of No. 2 (in a very intimate setting). Other than that, how about that election? Wowser! Happy Days Are Here Again in MY camp while those in other camps hyperventilate into paper bags. I'm getting a few tomatoes in the backyard, and just picked several collard leaves. MOST exciting is that the elephant garlic has decided it would like to stay and make nice. You might/or not recall how the elephant garlic had died off and how I'd separated the cloves just in case it decided to grow again. Did I mention how Em was working again at the Race Track? It's a Wednesday thru Saturday gig that'll end December 3. The schedule plays havoc with meal planning because he needs to leave by 4:15 and doesn't get home until late (between 9:30 and 11pm). So, I make breakfast, brunch, early supper and late supper. We're waiting until after the Race Track gig is done to start at the city health club just because it's a drive beyond the Race Track north to get there and our cars aren't running so well lately to take on more than required trips. What else? I dunno. We did major grocery shopping this week just because some sales only happen once/year at this time. I've inventoried it all, but still need to update my price file. That's the file I keep which lets me know whether or not a sale price is actually a sale price (and keeps a history of prices on individual items). Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all! I may even call that unidentified uncle of mine who lives in Illinois.