A New Adventure | Peaches Prattlings

{May 2, 2021} A visit to the flutterby, I mean Butterfly House!

Ok, first…yes, I call them flutterbys, I did as a kid and I still do. Second, I love flutterbys, they make me happy, and third…this is a warning, if you do not like other things found in the insect world, I will let you know when to skip a paragraph and photos, I do not want anyone wigged out. Yes, especially you DLP!

Not much was going on today and PSM had to work, so, after errands, I headed out to the Sophia M Sachs Butterfly House and it was so worth it! I cannot wait for visitors so I can share it with them. I don’t remember if I told you about the Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium in New Orleans, which I found out today was permanently closed, but…it’s moving to the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas on the river, not sure when it will be finished, but if you’re in the area when it’s open, GO! Yup, go! Ok, back to the Butterfly House here in St Louis! Also…so worth it! Tickets were $8, so reasonable!

It’s in Faust Park, which also has the St Louis Carousel, which I didn’t go in/on, cannot wait though! Who’s coming to visit first?! Parking was free, bonus! It’s a nice big park, there is a playground, lots of people picnicking, hanging out. There were two people with a dog hanging out when I got there and when I left, they were all still there, must be a really nice place to hang, I’ll let you know next time! Just a tidbit…The park was created in 1968 through the generosity of Leicester & Mary Plant Faust who donated the property, which today contains nearly 200 acres in the heart of Chesterfield. It was their intention to forever preserve the original estate of Missouri’s second governor, Frederick Bates.

In I went! I had my ticket scanned, you have to have a reservation and purchase your tickets in advance, easy! I was told what to expect when I went in and away I went. Ok…if you are woogie about crawly things, bugs, this is where you should skip this paragraph and photo, move to the next set.

I asked if this was similar to the Insectarium in New Orleans, the person at the desk didn’t know, but it seems they are all set up similarly. You are introduced to different species of bugs, I only took pictures of the ones I thought were cool and could look at! We started with the Taxicab Beetle, very cool, they have faces on their backsides so predators avoid attacking because they think the beetle can see them! Derby’s Flower Beetles, beautiful green and shiny, and interestingly, the males have a horn and the females don’t. Then there were Caribbean Hermit Crabs, they are H U G E!!! Then came some things most people don’t like, I think they’re cool and MM absolutely loves! Brazilian Salmon Pink Tarantula, Trinidad Chevron Tarantula, Mexican Red Rump Tarantula, Brazilian White Knee Tarantula, Curly Hair Tarantula, so cool and not as creepy as you might think! And lastly, Black Beauty Stick Insects, cool!

Before you go into the butterfly conservatory, you have to watch a short film, it’s less than 3 minutes, about how things work at the butterfly house when they get shipments of chrysalis, it was very cool and I learned a lot. They even call it a butterfly mardi gras! It’s when they release 1,500+ butterflies into the conservatory, it’s fascinating! Are you ready to go into the conservatory? I am!

When you walk in, it’s a little toasty, think tropical, muggy, a little sticky after a while, perfect for the flutterbys. There were trees, trees, and more trees, lots of foliage! and waterfalls, and ponds, and lots of places for the butterflies to land…if they wanted to! There were plates of food, hanging from branches, on stands, and the food consisted of bananas and pineapple slices, sounds good to me! Every so often you would catch a glimpse of a butterfly having a sip or bite of something, do they bite anything?

Everywhere I turned, something was happening! There were even paper lanterns with fun facts about butterflies. They move so fast! It was hard to get pics, but there were a few fabulous moments and I was able to snap a pic. I even got a selfie of one, that was choice!

I just kept snapping pics! The butterflies were so beautiful, so many shades, colors, patterns, speed, areal stunts, soaring, floating, just amazing and if you’re lucky, one might land on your head, hand, foot…I got lucky with a moment on my foot! In addition to the butterflies, there were amazing flora and fauna, orchids, hibiscus, and so much more, it was awash with color! I was in the conservatory for about 35/40 minutes and it was so worth it! I cannot wait to share this with PSM and others!

I walked out of the conservatory and back onto the grounds, it was lovely, butterfly benches, a pond, places for classes, and there was even a Mad Hatter Tea Party going on, it was fun! There were mothers, daughters, grandmothers, aunts, cousins, all sorts of combinations, and everyone was dressed up and wearing great big hats!

You know I love flowers and there were some fabulous flowers throughout the grounds.

At the entrance, well, exit at this point, sculptures, art installations, a pond, and lots of greenery.

Overall, it was a wonderful experience and so worth it. If you have the time, I recommend it, I’m ready to go back, maybe with a picnic lunch! Fly, flit, fly away flutterbys!

{May 1, 2021} A perfect day for a fabulous ride!

Today was the group ride, based on the pre-ride I told you about last weekend, did that make sense?! It was predicted to be a gorgeous day! Let’s go!

The day started early, a little before 7a, got the pups up, walked, and fed, and played, and snuggled. We were out the door by 8am, we needed to be at Mungenast by 8/8:30am, we were heading out for a 3 hour ride. No, I am not going to sing again or make you think about Gilligan’s Island, except for that reference! We got to Mungenast in plenty of time to hang, greet each other, catch up, chat, look at each other’s bikes and the changes or improvements we’ve made. Well, not me, but I could ooh and ah and admire like the rest of them!

When everyone had assembeled, we gathered for a talk from the ride captain, rules of the road and all that. We always have those at the beginning of a group ride, it’s most important when there are a lot of bikes and we had quite a few! It was decided that we would break into two groups to make it easier at stop signs, lights, etc. We were with the second group because PSM was going to block traffic as we were leaving, it’s easier if you have someone who stops the cars and you can leave as one unit. The analogy is that when we’re all together, we act as an 18-wheeler, a really big truck. I hope that made sense!

We headed out, our group was about 5-10 minutes behind the first group. There was some highway riding, but the best part was to get to the back roads, the winding roads, off the beaten path so to speak. We rode for about an hour to Washington, MO, stopped for gas, stretch the legs, grab a snack. It was interesting, sometime before we got to the first stop, we caught up with the first group, then we rode together to the gas station. And it was much needed!

Then…we rode to Hermann, MO, we didn’t stop in Hermann, just drove through, lots of people and bikers out, and very cool, there was Harley Davidson rider who was out for a stroll, so to speak and super cool, turned his bike to block the oncoming cars, so we could ride as one unit, aces! We actually stopped a few miles outisde of Hermann for anyone to gas up, bio break, snacks, you name it. This was the last stop until we got to our destination, just about an hour to go and we were all together, nice.

We headed out, and off we go. It was mostly back roads, some beautiful scenery. I did have a bit of deja vu, as we just did this ride last weekend. We kept a steady pace and I know we were a sight to see. Even when I’m looking at us, it’s quite the site! I can tell you we made quite the sight, there were people waving at us and some even taking videos as we went by, it’s pretty cool.

The weather was perfect, started out about 60 in the morning and went up to 80+, but the wind was something! There were quite a few of us who felt it on the ride, especially on the highway. By the time we got to Head Motor Company in Columbia, MO, we were all ready to get off the bikes. All I wanted to do was stand or sit, and not move!

They had tents set up, demo bikes, food, sales on merchandise, it was quite the site. We were also there to meet the Indian Motorcycle Riders Group Kansas City Chapter, something we do when there are events or rides that are going to meet somewhere in the middle, or close to the middle, which this was.

We had some grub, everyone enjoyed the bbq, it looked good, I improvised! I had a cole slaw sandwich! It was actually quite tasty! And an oatmeal raisin cookie, I was happy! While we ate, we chatted, caught up, got to know some new members, met and talked to the KC riders/members. It’s nice meeting new people, fellow biker enthusiasts. We were on an official group ride, so there was a meeting, had to be.

Then it was time to head out. A few of us decided to go to Hermann for a drink, maybe some food for me! We started at the gas station for a fill-up, then we were off. Since the official ride was over, we were able to go a little faster on the way back, the roads were great, lots of curves, I am trusting the bike more and more, it felt great! We got to Hermann, found a place to park the bikes, but finding a place for beverages, not as easy, but we finally found a place!

We settled in, orderd drinks, I got a vegan weisswurst, it’s a sausage, and mighty tasty, hit the spot. We chatted some more, with less people, more intimate. It was fun, drinks, laughter, stories, what more could you want? After that, we headed out and after a while, some folks split off and PSM and I, with two other guys went to another bar for one more drink, conversation, and fun. Then it was home to take care of the pups.

Speaking of the pups…we asked JS to come and hang with them mid-day so they wouldn’t be in the crate all day, she wasn’t available, but her mom was. I set up the hammock and they all had a great time!

What a day! We had amazing weather, great company, a plethora of bikes, a fabulous route, and the wind at our backs. What more could you want?!

{April 29, 2021} Cheeky monkey! Some training is required!

So…yesterday, I told you that Ruby got spooked and tried to get on the sofa, and we don’t allow dogs on the furniture. I did also say that being on the bed was a special occassion, as long as PSM or I are there. And she got on the bed and got yelled at for it.

Today, I walk into the living room and guess who is lying on the sofa, happy as you please, without a care in the world?! Yup, Ruby! Seriously?! I reacted, yelled to get off the sofa and she did, after a moment, then ran into PSM’s office on the dog bed. PSM was in the other room at the moment and asked “Did you put her in the crate?” I’m still learning some of the doggie discipline. I’ve put them in the crate when it was really bad, I didn’t think about it this time, but he was right.

I went into the office and grabbed her by the collar and said, “into the crate” and that’s where we went, well, we went into the front room and she went into the crate. Here’s the interesting thing…when Bee was in the crate on Saturday, while I called the vet and then was rinsing the dye out of my hair, I didn’t want her inhaling the house or throwing up everywhere, it was for her safety, and Ruby, because she was worried about her sister, Bee, she kept running back and forth from me to the crate. Today, Ruby was in the crate, Bee was off somewhere sleeping! Not fair! ha ha

Apparently her time with the dog sitter, when she got one over on JS and got on the sofa, we have to do a little re-training. One thing that PSM did point out about it, she knows this is her home and she feels safe. That makes me feel good, sigh. Why can’t she just say that with kisses and snuggling? ha ha

{April 28, 2021} The thunder spooked someone…

Our two dogs are so very different from each other, they are wonderfully alike in so many ways when it comes to wanting affection, giving kisses, snuggling, getting treats, but Bee ain’t skered a’ nutin’! On the other hand…sometimes Ruby is afraid of her own shadow!

Ruby can step up to a dog, let them know when they are not welcome, haven’t seen that with a human, and that’s only some dogs. I have to say, she’s great, well, they both are, great with puppies and older dogs, hmmm…we always test the water to see if a meet and greet will go well or sideways.

When anyone comes near the yard, well, dogs, and they are in the backyard, they will let everyone know it’s their yard. Before 8am, if they happen to do that, I stop it, if it’s after 8am, people are usually working, it’s ok. I love hearing the laugh when I say “You are fine, no one is invading your yard!” Both Ruby and Bee let those passing by know who rules the roost!

One way they are different is with sirens, if there is a fire truck or a police car siren, Bee could care less…Ruby, on the other hand…either she’s worried or trying to help! I have to reassure her they have it under control. It does make her nervous and she will come for comfort, it’s cute. She also whines along with them, like I said…worried or helping! Who knows.

Another way they are very different is when it comes to the weather. I’ve told you what Bee was like when it was snowing and icy, she wouldn’t step foot outside, while Ruby, on the other hand, was ready to run through the raindrops, bring it on! Thunderstorm, hard rain, lightning, you name it, Bee is asleep, she doesn’t even notice. Ruby on the other hand…wow! She is at our sides in a flash. Today, she even tried to get on the sofa, I stopped that! Mostly because we both had to work, so I got her to come into my office and finally convinced her to sit under my desk, she’s done that a few times. It really reminds me of Mollie, she was the same way with loud noises, big dogs, go figure…

I stepped out of my office to use the bathroom and I didn’t shut the bedroom door. Now…usually, when one of us is in the bathroom for business or showering, if the door is open, the dogs will sit outside waiting for us to come out and pet, snuggles, whatever. Today…however…Ms Ruby was on the bed! Oh no! Not happening! I think I’ve told you that the dogs are not allowed on the furniture, but on special occasions, like a Saturday or Sunday morning, if there is some lounging happening…I let them on the bed, if PSM gets in there, it’s usually a lick fest, ha ha, but with me, I get licked for a minute, then they settle down and just snuggle. They know they can get on the bed when I give them permission, and when it’s not given, a very stern no!

Well…I came out of the bathroom and she was sitting on the bed, pretty as you please! And when I asked her what she was doing on the bed…did not look at me! It was like all those videos people post on youtube! Cheeky monkey! Of course I took a video!

{April 26, 2021} I sweat like a smurf!

I love dying my hair, as you may have guessed, but there are some drawbacks!

When I use a product like Revlon to dye my hair, like my Revlon 42 Red, by the way, do you see how cheap it is at Walmart?! Now you know how I always have it on hand! I buy a few boxes when I’m there and I’m set for months! Now, when I use those products, when I rinse my hair the first time, the shower gets a little red, and my hair towel gets a little red for the first two, maybe three washes, but that’s it.

With these colors from Splat, I belive I told you the first thing that happens…with blue, it looks like Smurf-acide in the shower! And then…I have to sleep on a towel for quite a while, until it stops coming off on the pillow at night, and I have to be careful of my clothes at first, especially if my hair is wet, maybe in the rain, but the worst…when I am doing hot yoga…you are sweating like crazy to begin with. But then…as I start to sweat, every inch of me is sweating, including my head, which leaks from my hair! O M G! I am constantly wiping my neck and face, just hoping I’m not turning blue!

When I go into the bathroom after class, I can see the droplets of blue forming! This drives me crazy! It’s really the only drawback! I can talk about this until I’m blue in the face…wah wha wah wah…I figured this out the first time last year, when we were in New Hampshire and I went for a hike with DTN and PN, I was sweating and all of a sudden, I wiped my neck and…blue! I learned my lesson, I am super careful now. Not much I can do though, just keep wiping and hoping I don’t come out looking like a smurf. Wait for it…

That would really make me feel blue! ha ha

{April 25, 2021} Another pre-ride, a thing of beauty!

Today started early, about 620am, which is unfortunate for a Sunday, but a necessary evil.

We had a motorcycle ride planned and we had to meet the guys at 930am, we had quite a ride ahead of us. I didn’t intend to get up quite so early but someone invaded my dream and I wanted them out. No, not the wasband, someone else, but I knew I was dreaming and decided if they were not leaving, I was. Go me!

I got up, started piddling around, I knew we had to get up soon to walk the dogs, give them breakfast, and chill with them for a few before we had to put them back in the crate for the day. I will tell you, I am going to see if I can get JS, who stayed with them last weekend, to come and let them out, take them for a walk, maybe hang with them for a bit, when we have these long rides. We were gone about 10 hours today, which is a normal work day, if we went into the office. Not fair to the pups, but they were fine! Here’s hoping! I will need to do the same for the week of the annual motorcycle ride in New Hampshire, but more about then when it happens.

It was supposed to be much warmer than that other ride we took a few weeks ago. Our ride captain said he put in a special request for very little wind, thank you! We got dressed, put on our riding gear and headed out about 9am. We met three of the guys, our ride captain’s wife was going to join us later down the road.

I don’t know if you remember me telling you what a pre-ride is. It is a ride to test the route for an official group ride. This tests the route, for all levels of rider, the distance, and how it will be with a larger group. I think we’re supposed to have about 30-35 bikes next week, that means about 40, maybe 50 people on the ride, since there are some people who are paired up on their bikes. It’s much easier, as you might imagine, with less people, but it will definitely be fun. There are lots of logistics, like stop lights and stop signs. You want to try to ride as if you’re ‘one vehicle’, someone blocks traffic, if possible, you stay on the highway together, on the streets, signals, newer riders in the back, and you always ride in a group for the slowest rider, that way people stay together, as much as they can.

The ride we did today was great, it was about a 3 hour ride, and it’s three hours because we are taking back roads, very little highway. We also stop about every hour, which can be 100 miles, and we stop at gas stations, that allows bikes with smaller tanks, like mine to fill up. I fill up no matter what, since you never know if you will run out before the next stop. It’s also a great opportunity to stretch your legs, have a bio break, and catch up with folks for a few minutes, before the next stretch.

We are heading to, pun intended, now that I write this! Head Motor Company in Columbia, MO, the home of the University of Missouri or Mizzou, as it is affectionally referred to. We are heading there to meet the Kansas City Chapter of the IMRG, Indian Motorcycle Riders Group. While there, Head Motor Company is hosting a BBQ, there might be music, not sure, we will see some new rides, maybe get some new swag, who knows. It’s going to be a good time!

After we got to Head Motor Company, which happened to be closed on Sunday, most Indian Dealerships are, we headed out in search of food. We went to Flat Branch Pub & Brewing, and since I was able to find it on my GPS, after our ride captain got us back to the highway, I took over and led us there. Unfortunately, there was a 40 minute wait, we walked over to the Broadway Diner, which happened to be close, but…right across the street, the Shiloh Bar & Grill with plenty of seating, no wait, food, and alcohol! That last one I don’t care about, but everyone who did was happy.

We grabbed a table, ordered drinks and food, talked about the ride from St Louis, what did people think of it, opinions about next week’s ride, bikes, of course, future trips, raffles, kids, and everyone’s dogs, go figure. There were only 6 of us, so it was nice to sit and chat, and be heard, definitely more intimate than what’s going to happen next weekend!

After food and drink, we headed back to the bikes, rode a short way, stopped for gas, always stop for gas at the start of the ride and the start of the ride home, even though you’ve stopped along the way. Drove an hour, got gas, chatted, shook the legs, drove on. We did this until everyone started going their own way and then it was just PSM and I and we were out like a shot!

Back home the pups were very happy to see us, I would be too, after 10 hours! Walked, fed, loved on, zzzzzzz, that was funny! It’s tough sleeping all day, getting excited for 20 minutes, walk, eat, get loved on…zzzzz

What…a…day! What…a…weekend! Wow! Tomorrow is Monday, it’s a new day and a new week, what adventures does it have in store for us? I know it starts with 6am hot yoga, gotta go!

{April 24, 2021} Yoga…brunch…hair…dog…movie…

Yup, that was my Saturday, what’d you do?! Details, details, coming up!

We started with hot yoga, of course! New instructor, for this class, for us, and for her, this was her 6th class ever, very cool. The nice thing…it was a a 730am class, so…even though we set alarms for it, just to be on the safe side, and also we are tired of missing class and getting charged $15-$20! If you cancel less than 12 hours before the start time, they charge you $15, if you just don’t show…$20. I get it, you’re a business and there could be people who weren’t able to attend because there might not be spots available. They are pretty good about it if unforeseen circumstances happen, they don’t charge you, but if we oversleep, that’s on us, and that’s happened, pook.

Overall, it was a decent class, she’ll get there. Listen to me…ha ha! I did like her playlist, all the instructors have different taste in music, I’ll tell you about it some time. Most of the time, it’s us and one or two other people, this morning there was a decent sized class. And it was pretty even, there are some classes where it’s me and a few guys, but more classes are a whole bunch of women, and PSM! We’re also starting to get to know people, recognizing them when we’re in class together, which is impressive when you actually can’t see their entire face because of the mask! One of the guys, who we now know, was taking the next class, it’s a restore class, he’s a beast! wow! PSM said we’ll do that one day. Huh? My response this morning [of course we’ll do it, you know I’ll take the class with him!] was “Breakfast will restore me…now!” ha ha.

That seemed to work…off to The Shack we went! I’ve told you about one of our favorite breakfast places a few times. We shared a veggie omelet with french toast and an english muffin. Beauty…seats at the bar! We have sat at a table only twice in this particular location. Once because DLP was with us and once because there were no seats at the bar, go figure! At other locations we can never seem to get a seat at the bar! But…our favorite bartender was there and we’ve become friendly with her, she’s really nice and a lot of fun to talk to. We talk about life, kids, and now, she’s getting married! She and her fiancé have been working out and you can really tell! She is doing much better than I did before our wedding! You go!

Today we told her we just came from hot yoga and she said she always wanted to try it, she thinks her fiancé would do it with her. Lightbulb! This coming week is customer appreciation at the studio, all the St Louis studios and…we can bring a friend for free! We asked if they wanted to come and try a class! She said definitely! Wah to the hoo! She was telling us her child’s drop off schedule, we figured evening class…And…we told her there is usually sustenance after, especially if we do an evening class! She perked up even more on that one! Score!

After breakfast, we headed home. PSM went to run an errand with the trailer and I decided it was time for some color in my life, so I pulled out my latex gloves, just looked up latest gloves and it turns out they are called medical gloves, which makes sense since they can come in different materials, and went through my color options. Since my hair is short, I haven’t used the entire bottle of anything I used last year. It’s funny, I was just thinking I should have done this two weeks ago when we had the dog’s Gotcha Day! I had just started coloring my hair around then, too funny! My go-to right now is still Splat, it seems to work for me. I decided to go with Midnight Blue, well, I think that’s the color it is, who knows, this one isn’t on the bottle like some of the others! Either way, I think it came out great! Matches my bike, ha ha!

Then we had a doggie scare! I happened to walk into the living room, with about 15 minutes left to go on my hair and I see Bee, the beagle, sorry for what comes next…eating her own puke, ugh, ick, and everything else you can think of. By the way…they do that, fact of life, still gross! I stopped her immediately and cleaned it up, as I was cleaning it up, she started licking things. Licking things is not unusual for our dogs, they lick our faces, we love the kisses, they lick the grass, Bee licks the street for worms, they lick the area rugs, mostly checking for food, the beds they sleep on, the ones in the living room sometimes have crumbs from their treats, they lick our legs, pants, arms, that’s a little odd, but that’s them.

What this was…different. She was licking everything as she was trying to clean the entire house, licking incessantly, like she had an insatiable thirst. She licked the floor, not just the floor, the corners of the kitchen, the crevices, the area rugs, you name it, she licked it. I watched her for a few minutes, then I put her in the crate to see if I could stop her from going crazy and making herself sick. She proceeded to throw up in the crate and then try to eat it, I stopped her, was able to clean it up, get the bed out of the crate and when I closed the gate, she proceeded to lick the tray in the crate and the crate itself. At this point, I am on the phone with the vet. I had first called PSM during all of this to see if he had any ideas, nope, so vet it is. Turns out…dogs will do this when they get nauseous, trying to help whatever is making them nauseous go away.

While I’m on with the vet, she stopped, then started again, then stopped. They told me to bring her in, even though I thought she was done, better safe than sorry. I told them I had to get the dye out of my hair first and I would be up there. Of course this happened! I proceeded to go as quickly as I could to get the dye out, let’s just say, it looked like I murdered a Smurf in there! OMG! The one thing I always forget…wear gloves when you’re getting the dye out of your hair, just like when you put it in…my finger tips were a little blue!

Ruby is now running back and forth from our bedroom to Bee, very sweet and worried sister she is! I got leashes on both of them. By the way…Bee is now sitting in the crate looking at me as if she had not a care in the world! Got them in the car, luckily the vet is only a 5 minute drive up the road. I called and eventually they came out to get her. Then Ruby and I waited, and waited, and waited. They finally called, she was acting like her normal self, sniffing the ground, not licking, and sounding like a pig looking for truffles! The vet said they couldn’t find anything wrong, didn’t feel anything in the way, she even lost a pound! Go Bee! They gave her an injectable, to be on the safe side, and sent me home with a 4-pack of pills in case this ever happens again! I wish I could have gotten a video so you could know what it is if it happens to you! While Ruby and I were waiting, PSM showed up with a smoothie for me, he’s so sweet! He took Ruby home and after a while, Bee came out, happy as a lark and we went home!

Bottom line…Bee is FINE! Wah to the hoo!

But wait…the day’s not over! We got home, we were hanging out and I thought someone deserved a little something’-somethin’ and for me…the dog mom, is not an extra goodie, but time on the bed, snuggling with me and it worked like a charm! I got Bee, then Ruby on the bed with me and they snuggled while I played games on my phone and watched some Midsomer Murders! What more could you want.

If it was me, and it was, I wanted more! PSM came in and asked “What time does Mortal Kombat start? Ooh? Movie date? I’m in! I found a showing in the AMC IMAX theater, purchased tickets, selected seats, and put the dogs up, even before you can say ‘popcorn please!’

We got to the theater, ordered popcorn, water, and a box of Butterfinger Bites. Did you know Butterfingers were introduced in 1923?! Wow! I can tell you my box of treats was fresher than that! ha ha. PSM got a beer and we were ready to go! We found our seats, settled in and watched previews, which…I looked at PSM and asked him if Mortal Kombat, which I’ve seen the original movies and knew the answer to my question, was a horror movie, to which he replied no, and my next question…”then why are all the movie previews for horror movies?!” That made zero sense.

The movie started, and I will share details on the movie in another post, but…all I have to say is WOW! La La La LOVED it! I can’t wait to see it again! More details later.

After the movie, home to walk, feed, and hang out with the pups, grabs some dinner and chill, tomorrow’s another day! And we have a motorcycle ride in our future! Cannot wait!

{April 21, 2021} A trip to the dentist…ahhh

I actually like going to the dentist, I know I’m not normal to some people, but I do. Even though most times I go, I get some news…like ‘oh look, another cavity’ yeah, that’s me. But…I do like going to the dentist, my teeth feel clean, and squeaky clean, and smooth, ahhh.

When I was a kid, we went to Dr. T, the whole family, I remember the treat basket in the corner, when we were done we got to pick something, I remember the toys, was there candy as well? That wouldn’t make sense for a dentist! It wasn’t always my favorite experience, cavities and all…but he was a very nice man, always with a smile and his hygienist was a very nice woman as well. My dad was still going to him after GES and I grew up and left NY, unfortunately we lost Dr T last year to Covid-19, when dad told me, it was a part of my childhood that was gone, and even thought I hadn’t seen him since I was a kid, I always got reports back when my dad would see him. Over 40 years, I think, my dad was going to him, he is missed.

When I moved to Atlanta, someone I was working with recommended Dr. Roger Abbott, and he became my dentist for the nearly 20 years that I lived in Atlanta. He was funny, compassionate, caring, and a great dentist. He was even an amateur stand up comedian, I told you he was funny! R was one of his hygienists when I started and I stuck with them until I left. I made sure to only see them when I visited the office and after a while, I didn’t even have to ask! I made him laugh in return, even talked to him through my root canals, I know you’re shocked! He laughed at my music selections, it was usually something Muppets related!

When I started going to him, he only had 2 or 3 exam rooms, by the time I left, there were about 15, maybe 20, I know he expanded a lot. I feel like I helped him get there, with all my procedure and cavities! HA HA. When I first started going, they had tv’s on the wall, I said you need tv’s in the ceiling, for when patients are laying flat back, guess what they got! I told him they needed blankets, guess what the got! We watched our kids grow up, his kids were crawling when I first started going, sharing stories with each other. I think we even got divorced about the same time! One of the things I really liked was when I would have a procedure, like a root canal, filling, whatever, he would call that evening to check on me. Bottom line, what a great dentist and human being!

It was hard to find someone I trusted as much as Dr Abbott, I even thought I would go back to Atlanta every six months to have my check-ups with him. That worked for a minute. I went to my sister’s dentist in Boston, that was temporary, I found someone I liked in Hawai’i, that was temporary…today, we went to a new dentist near where we live and he was great.

The world is very small, let me tell you why. We started talking about where we are from, where we want to retire to. Well, here’s the small world part, he’s from Hong Kong, no not that part, he went University of Buffalo, I went to SUNY Fredonia, and PSM went to University of Rochester. Anyone who has been to those universities, especially in Western New York, knows about Buffalo Wings, and not just any buffalo wings, the places that made them famous! The Anchor Bar is where it all started, and we talked about that for a long time. It was a long time ago, but when I was on a project in Buffalo, my sister and some friends, who went to UB, asked me to bring back wings from the Anchor Bar, and I did. About 25 pounds of frozen wings, they were very happy!

Back to the dentist…we had x-rays, cleanings, flossing, and rinsing. Wonderfully, I came away with nothing! And by nothing, I mean no issues! Was to the hoo! I called my dad on my way home and told him, he was very excited for me. I said “I guess the dentist didn’t need to buy anything!” ha ha. He even complimented one of my crowns, go Dr. Abbott!

All in all, a very pleasant experience and appointments have already been made for October, let’s go!

{April 20, 2021} Mother Nature…really? Were you having a personal summer?

If you have’t guessed it, today…in St Louis…we had…SNOW! in APRIL! It can happen, or so I had been told and here we are!

A personal summer is what someone once referred to, for women of a certain age, which I happen to be one, a hot flash, if you catch my drift. I love the term personal summer, instead of hot flash! That being said, apparently, Mother Nature was having one of those today, so she had to turn up the AC, to the point it snowed! Actually, when we were walking the dogs, I said to PSM, it looks like Mother Nature sneezed really hard and all the stuffing got knocked out!

When we were in Chicago this weekend, we heard it was going to snow this week and when we got back to St Louis, guess what! We live in the middle, so that can happen. It wasn’t very cold this morning, the usual 45, we went to yoga, came home, walked the dogs, it was just overcast. The snow was predicted about noon, and around 11am or so, it started to rain, it was only 39 at that point and then the rain started to become flaky. Next thing I knew, I looked outside my office window and falling were those giant fluffy snowflakes, the ones that look all pillowy and so cute when they land on my nose and eyelashes…

When I texted my dad and sister, GES said ‘we had that Friday, have fun!’, gee thanks! It was pretty, but not enough to make a snowman, oh well…

It’s interesting to walk through the neighborhood and see the trees in bloom in pink laden with snow, or snow on the roof behind it. I hope our flowers don’t suffer too badly. We had snow piled in the backyard and then for our evening walk about 5p, it had already started melting, but…we’re getting a freeze tonight, wahoo.

But…with the freezing weather, we noticed smoke coming from some chimneys in our neighborhood, so guess what we did…yup…PSM built us a nice fire and eventually, everyone was sleeping by the warmth of the fire and they all looked so peaceful with lit up by the light from the fire. It’s ok if it’s freezing out there, tonight, all is right with the world!

{April 18, 2021} It’s a beautiful Sunday in Chicago, what should we do first?

Well…not set an alarm for one! That was easy! We got up eventually, took showers and got ourselves ready to greet the day. First…since we didn’t want to have to carry our bags around the city all day, so we arranged with the hotel to keep the room for the day, wahoo!

Eventually, we ventured out in search of breakfast. I was disappointed that the Chicago Diner ‘Meat Free since ’83’, one of my favorite places to eat in Chicago, unfortunately, it wasn’t open until 12p, maybe next time we go to Chicago, we can eat there. We decided on a place that was less than a mile away, Wildberry Pancakes & Cafe. It had a high rating, so we were excited. We put our names on the waitlist, we didn’t actually have to wait too long, it was quite busy. Chicago seems to still be waking up from quarantine.

When we finally got a seat, we waiting for quite a while before anyone came over to the table, our server was nice enough, but frazzled, according to her, it was crazy busy and they were backed up in the kitchen. Not sure if they had enough staff working. We finally got to order, PSM got his decaf coffee pretty quickly, but my chai latte, on the other hand, came just before the food, which was about 20 minutes later, and it came in a to-go cup, that was a first. I watched several drinks come out of the kitchen like that, I have a feeling they were low on kitchen staff. I was watching the people at the table next to ours, who were seated at the same time we were. Their drinks came at the same time mine did, and they still didn’t have food. Our food got there and we started eating.

We had ordered a vegetable skillet, requesting the hash browns be fully cooked, I don’t know if we’ve talked about this, but I don’t like my hash browns white, still looking like it was a just shredded potato. The veggies were good, the eggs as well. I will say the pancakes were good, we hoped they were since the restaurant was called Wildberry Pancakes & Cafe! The toast, on the other hand, was cold. Oh well.

We headed out for a stroll down Michigan Avenue, also known as The Magnificent Mile. You might be wondering why it’s called Michigan Avenue is known as The Magnificent Mile, click the link! It really is a beautiful street, the flowers are in bloom and one thing Chicago is known for, well in my opinion at least! is the artwork that is found on the streets, be it in the floral arrangements, sculpture, graffiti, even, and you know how much I love graffiti! I didn’t take any pictures of it this trip, sorry.

There were also quite a few businesses boarded up along Michigan Avenue, in preparations for the protests that happened on Friday. Many of those businesses were still open, and the foot traffic was lively, but not unreasonable and everyone was respectful of their space. We made our way to the T-Mobile Flagship Store, PSM had some questions, and if you remember my time in Chicago, I love that particular T-Mobile! After T-Mobile, we walked down Michigan Avenue, our end goal was Millennium Park, just looking in windows and watching people, and taking photos of the flowers as we went.

We were about to pass a Starbucks, what we thought was just an ordinary Starbucks, when it turns out to be quite a bit more than that! It was the Starbucks Reserve Roastery. Yeah, try saying that 5 times fast! ha ha. I can’t think of a better way to describe it “If Willy Wonka had built the ultimate coffee shop instead of a chocolate factory, the result may have looked a lot like the 15,000-square-foot Starbucks Reserve Roastery.” That is the description from their website about the first Reserve Roastery that opened in Seattle, of course, where it all began.

The Chicago Reserve Roastery is a five story building and each story houses something different, although, you can get coffee and tee on every floor, although, they don’t have all the same traditional drinks that you would get at your average, on every block, Starbucks. First floor: Coffee, tee, pastry, merchandise. Second floor: dedicated bakery. Third floor: the art, science, and theater of coffee: coffee creations, flights, nitrogen-infused gelato, and more. Fourth floor: Alcohol! A cocktail bar. Fifth floor: Rooftop terrace, reservation required.

It was quite the experience. After we toured each floor, and it really was something to see, and something to see at every turn, we ordered drinks. PSM got an iced decaf something and I didn’t want a hot drink, so I tried to order something similar to the Dragon Drink that I like, which is sweet mango and dragonfruit flavors, with creamy coconut milk, ice and a scoop of real diced dragonfruit. I love it! They didn’t have anything like that so I ordered something the person at the register recommended and I ordered it with oat milk. She looked at me kind of funny, I said I wanted something similar to the dragon drink, here goes. First…they made it incorrectly and while they remade it the way I ordered it, I got to keep the incorrect one. SO glad I did because the one with oat milk…yuck! it was awful! wow!

After Starbucks, we kept walking and eventually ended up in Millennium Park, across from where we had breakfast. We started with The Bean, which is technically Cloud Gate Park, it is a 10-ton elliptical sculpture is forged of a seamless series of highly polished stainless steel plates, which reflect Chicago’s famous skyline and the clouds above. Basically, it looks like a giant bean! It was designed by Anish Kapoor. The cool thing about it is when you get under it, your reflection is inverted and sometimes it’s hard to find yourself in it. It was gated off, which makes sense, since so many people get in there and touch it. Safety first! A cool thing…as we were standing there, we saw a couple just after they got engaged, the eruption of cheers and the now fiancé’s tears were very touching!

Then we walked to the gardens, flowers were in bloom, some just coming to life, some dying. I liked that there was one patch where they left the dying flowers to feed the new growth and the insects who live in it.

After the gardens, we walked to the Crown Fountain, two 50-foot glass block towers at each end of a shallow reflecting pool, designed by Jaume Plensa. They project images of faces which are animated and in the summer, they are true fountains. The fun thing is to sit and watch all the kids, young and old, running and playing in the fountain/water spouts. Right now, not much water happening.

Then there was an installation by a Chicago based artist, Christine Tarkowski. “When we call the Earth by way of distinction a planet and the Moon a satellite, we should consider whether we do not, in a certain sense, mistake the matter. Perhaps- and not unlikely – the Moon is the planet and the Earth the satellite! Are we not a larger moon to the Moon, than she is to us?“

This was the end of our tour of Millennium Park, thoroughly enjoyable! Now, we’re hungry! A few blocks and we are at a place I la la la loved when I was in Chicago, Native Foods. I would not have subjected PSM to an entire weekend of vegan, but I wanted at least one, maybe two meals, and this is the one I got. One of the things I have been thinking about since we planned this trip is their vegan Reuben sandwich, O M G! I lived on it when I was there, introduced so many people to it, who couldn’t believe it wasn’t real and my mouth is watering just thinking about it now! And it was the vegan Reuben I compared all other vegan Reuben’s to.

And guess what they didn’t have… O M G! NOOOOOOOoooo! I was heartbroken, what was I to do?! I ended up with a meatball sub with provolone and sweet potato fries, PSM had a brisket sandwich, remember…all vegan. For dessert, we didn’t care much for the peanut butter parfait, but my other go-to favorite…their oatmeal creme pie! It’s more like an oatmeal whoopee pie, to give you a visual. Oh wow! I was going to say OMG again, but you’re probably tired of it! It is so yummy and good, another thing I got my non-vegan friends hooked on! I still get texts from friends I was on that project with, who will go there on occasion to get just that! Wow, that’s saying something! It’s so tasty, but soo, sooooo, soooo sweet! I couldn’t eat it all in one sitting and it was a little much for PSM, he did try it though, and declared it was all mine! muwahahah. Needless to say, it is going to take me a few days to eat it! Ha ha.

After lunch, back to the hotel to chill for a bit, then head to the airport, we have puppies to see! I can’t wait to find out what they got up to this weekend. First class home, then puppies! What a weekend! What’s our next adventure?!

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