Family | Peaches Prattlings

{April 17, 2021} It’s Saturday in Chicago! Yoga …Brunch … Walking [a lot!]…Food…Speakeasy!

Just your typical Saturday for us, right?!

We woke up before the alarm, that was nice, definitely don’t want to miss this! Got dressed in our yoga gear, put our clothes over it, no changing rooms at the event, yoga mat and yoga towels in the beach bag I brought to carry everything. There was some planning that went into this! Headed out, Dunkin’ Donuts was across the street, let’s wake up! There aren’t any DD’s close to us here, so we stick to Starbucks, which isn’t bad, PSM’s the choosy one when it comes to his morning cup o’ joe! Same in Hawai’i, the DD was not so good there! They got their first DD only a few years ago, they’ll get there. Uber ordered, just waiting.

Uber arrives, takes up the 2.5 miles to the Lighthouse ArtSpace where the Immersive Van Gogh Chicago is being held and where we were taking a yoga class offered by Core Power Yoga IN the Immersive Van Gogh Chicago Exhibit! We actually participated in a yoga class while the exhibit was happening.

The way the exhibit works, from their site: Be immersed in 500,000 cubic feet of stunning projection animating the master’s oeuvre and illuminating the mind of the genius. Wander through giant projections that highlight brushstroke, detail, and colour as you have never experienced them. Visitors will be immersed in Van Gogh’s works from his sunny landscapes and night scenes, to his portraits and still life. All of that, while set to music.

Originally, we were going spend a weekend in Chicago and go to the exhibit, and depending on the weather, we were going to take the bikes. I bought the tickets and we were set. Well…about two or three weeks ago, I got an email, telling me about the yoga classes in the exhibit! How could I resist!? I immediately emailed and asked if I could exchange our tickets so we could do this yoga class. As soon as they said yes, I checked with PSM which weekend would work best. This weekend it was, so exchanged happened, and…included with our tickets…we could spend time in the exhibit, win-win!

We got there early, got our temperatures checked, and waited, there was a class ahead of ours. The music we heard was nothing like any music any of our regular yoga instructors play! The room was dim, there were rings of light on the floor, spaced out. This is where they want people to sit, socially distant to experience the exhibit, but worked out for yoga, everyone just took a circle and put down their mats. There were three triangle or obelisk mirrors in the room, turns out they were for the event, but looked cool! The instructor came in and we got started about 8am.

As we are getting into child’s pose to get started, the exhibit began. That meant the music queued up, the video projectors started going, and we were immersed in the experience. It was a normal yoga class, well, not normal for us, we now know why it’s called Core Yoga! Wow! There were only two negatives to the entire experience…a few times, the instructor’s mic didn’t work, it was a big room, acoustics, and just technical difficulties and because it was moving all around us, sometimes the floor seemed to be moving, not good! Oh, and when you do a tree pose and the instructor tells you to look at something that’s not moving, to work on balance, and the entire place is moving…ha ha ha. Other than that…we moved, we stretched, we balanced, we downward faced our dogs! we sweat! So much fun!

After class, we got into street clothes and hung out in the next room, sitting in one of the circles on the floor, we missed an opportunity for a loveseat, all good. The exhibit began. Every space in the room was filled with images and movement. There wasn’t a nook or cranny the images did not catch. Look up, over, down, you name it, there was movement. The paintings were swaying, moving, morphing into the next painting, breaking down or deconstructing the strokes of the paintings, getting a feel for how he created them, the colors, the sights, the movements, all made sense in this amazing feet of beauty.

We sat through it once on the ground level, then moved up for the second time to watch it from the balcony, a different experience, you catch things from that angle that you didn’t see from the ground. You really paid attention, well, I did. “Oh, look over there!” “Now, look here!” and it went on from there. We essentially participated three times, nothing like it.

When we left, we headed to the gift shop, we picked up a few things, PSM bought me a mask with one of my new favorite paintings, after seeing it in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette. I love so much of his work, but his sunflowers series, sigh…you know how I feel about sunflowers! I love this mask!

Everything they did in the space was so clever, they stairs and walls were painted with Van Gogh’s work, the elevator, stairwell, even the signs were clever “Gogh this way” “No Gogh – Do Not Enter” “Goghing Up Elevators”. For one who so loves a funny pup, bad dad joke, I was Goghing Ga Ga over all of it!

After yoga and the experience, it was time for brunch! I was hoping to get to a few of my favorite places in Chicago to eat, but, just like the rest of the country, it was opening back up and things were limited. We ended up going to Kanela’s in Old Town for brunch, it was less than a mile away and had a good rating. We got lucky and didn’t have to wait for a table, wahoo. Our waiter was funny, the place a little kitschy, I absolutely love the signs on the way, berry punny!

I had avocado toast with a fried egg, kale salad, and some seriously crispy potatoes, it was seriously yummy! PSM had an açaí bowl and we shared a plate of challah French toast. Mimosa, decaf coffee, and a masala chai tea for me with oat milk.

Time to walk of brunch! We decide to walk the 3+ miles back to the hotel, it warmed up nicely as we were walking, then got downright toasty! ha ha, go figure! As we came upon Wabash Avenue and State Street, the lights were red and the bell was clanging, there were some sailboats coming and the drawbridge was going up! This is one of my favorite things about Chicago! And they still work!

We watched the drawbridge go up, we loved it, even though we really didn’t have a choice, since we had to cross the bridge when we came to it. Oh, sorry! ha ha. We enjoyed Spring in Chicago, flowers in bloom, all the way back to the hotel. At the hotel, hang up the wet yoga stuff, take our shoes off and relax! Executive decision from someone who is dairy sensitive to someone who’s allergic. Pizza and beer for dinner. How could I say no? We were in Chicago and they have bathrooms! HA HA

We were a few blocks from a Giordano’s, one of the two more famous places for deep dish or Chicago-style pizza in Chicago. There are many fine establishments, but PSM hadn’t been to this one and it was close. We got there, put our names in, ordered our pizza, and waited for a table, ended up walking towards the back of the restaurant and there were two seats available at the bar, sold!

We put in drink and appetizer orders and waited for things to magically appear! We went for the motherland! PSM had an Classic Chicago deep dish pizza and I went for the spinach and added pineapple, and for an appetizer, we ordered the combo, so not right! ha ha. Cheese bread, chicken nugget things, and mozzarella triangles. Hey, if you’re in, you’re all in!

Needless to say, there was more than enough food, for a few people, and we both ordered small pizzas! Normally we would share, but we were in Chicago, home of the deep dish pizza, have to get what you really want! NO, we did not eat it all! Let’s just say, there is a very grateful homeless man in Chicago eating really well tonight!

We didn’t feel like going back to the hotel just yet, so we stopped at Plymouth Pub, Restaurant, and Rooftop Bar. I had been there a few times, with work outings, and friends from work. We weren’t staying, just one beer and we were out. It’s got a nice atmosphere, and a decent view.

We left there, went around the block, because the entrance across the street, really wasn’t an entrance, go figure, to Brando’s Speakeasy! No secret knock, pook! We did have to show our IDs to the guy at the door, I held mine up, he said, “you showed me the back”, but all good. I said “You did say you just wanted to see that we had IDs…” Made him laugh. There was karaoke going on in the front, but no available seating, so we were lead to the back, ended up at the bar, and there was one other person in the room, how exciting…and the music wasn’t our taste.

I went up to the front and asked if there was anything in the front, no dice, I leaned over and said, there’s no one back there, it’s kind of dead, and the music sucks. I can’t believe I said that! So rude! Back to PSM I went. All of a sudden the music changed, it was like 70s and 80s, we were loving it! Then…all of a sudden, the room was filling up and everyone was having a great time, apparently, we made our own karaoke bar! Ha ha! When the guy who sat us came back around, I apologized for saying the music sucked, but thanks for sending folks our way!

The lighting was dim, the front room was washed in red, our room was cozy, with tv’s showing old black and white movies and tv shows. There were classic cartoons, black and white, of course, and old movies with ladies stripping, it was a speakeasy.

After about two hours, there was a two hour limit per table, and we were getting there, we sang our way out of the speakeasy and headed back to the hotel. Shoes off, jammies on, lay down, zzzzzzzz.

More adventure awaits tomorrow…but no alarm!

{April 11, 2021} What a weekend! Another fabulous new adventure!

It’s Sunday, a decent day, let’s see what it has in store for us! Join me, will ya?!

We started off with the pups, of course. Then…breakfast! Let’s go to The Shack! It’s open again and we haven’t been there for a while! We found two seats right away at the bar, our favorite bartender was working, how could we lose! We ordered breakfast, a skillet and…panckes, waffle, or french toast? Well…they are currently Flipping off Cancer! For every pancake you order, they donate $1 to Kids Rock Cancer. It’s an innovative program that helps children successfully cope with the unique emotional challenges that accompany a cancer or blood disorder diagnosis. Through the proven healing power of music therapy, Kids Rock Cancer helps children combat feelings of anxiety, depression, uncertainty, and helplessness. Pancakes it is! All three options are tasty there, but when you can enjoy the cake of pan and help someone out, how can you go wrong! Y U M!

After breakfast, we had some errands to do, so we drove to Lowe’s and weren’t able to do what we needed to, but…I am now the proud owner of this power washer! I cannot wait to get out there and use it! You have no idea! Watch the grime drip down whatever it is you’re cleaning…move away this…clean that, oh yeah!

After Lowe’s, we didn’t feel like going home, we were going to go to the Butterfly House, but there were no tickets available today, oh well, there’s always a next time. But before we made any other decisions, hair cuts were very much in order!

We went to Sports Clips because PSM likes that extra thing they do with neck massages, no thanks I’m good. It felt so good to get a hair cut, it’s been a few months, I honestly can’t remember how long ago, you might, since that post asked if I looked like my bitmoji! HA HA. I did get a nice compliment…I had been talking with the stylist about the different colors we have died our hair, she asked what my natural color was and I told her. She was genuinely surprised that #42 Revlon was not my natural hair color. Thanks! It’s the pasty complexion that makes it work! ha ha! As we walked out, I looked at PSM and thought…”Boy, my hubby sure is cute! I love when he gets his hair cut!” Sigh…

Ok, now what…Looking at my list of Want to go Missouri, I had it! The City Museum! I had heard about it and I was definitely curious!

The City Museum: Explore the unexpected. City Museum is a hundred-year-old warehouse in downtown St. Louis in which artists have repurposed the pieces of old cities to build miles of tunnels, slides, climbers, bridges, and castles. There are secret passages and grand galleries. Playgrounds and ball pits. A circus and a train. A rooftop school bus and a Ferris wheel.

Let me tell you…this was an experience! We climbed, we slid, yes, I said slid! There were a few slides we went down, we crawled, we scooched, you name it, we tried it! There was a 10 story slide, I got half way up the circular staircases and was told the line was ridiculous, so…another time. We lost track of where we were, there were twists and turns, ups and downs, and sideways. Almost every room seemed to be conneted by these structures to climb in, on, through, we weren’t sure where we were half the time!

There was food, but no sit down where they normally have food, but we went into Beatnik Bob’s, which pays tribute to the carnival midway with a collection of items compiled to represent the youthful subculture of the ’50s. they had the world’s LARGEST underpants, yes, you read right! They had games, and old candies, pinball, video games, and so much more in the Odditorium! They had a full bar, aces! We sat with a bowl of vegan chili, PSM had a Gin & Tonic, from a can! and I did something I absolutely la la la love! I played Ms. Pacman! I had SO much fun! $1.50…can’t beat it! I was a little rusty at first, but eventually, the patterns came back and the dots got eaten!

At some point, we went outside and climbed on the amazing structures they had, it was a kids etch-a-sketch or I should say erector set, dream! There were two planes, old tram cars, two pieces of a castle, metal trees and real trees built into the structure. There were screams of joy and screams of terror from some kids, some of the climbing went waaaayyy up! I can’t even begin to tell you how much fun this was for us!

We even met a man who makes shoe laces! This was a branch of The Shoelace Factory. We didn’t get to see him make the shoe laces, that wasn’t happening at the moment, but we watched him cut the spools and finish them off. We talked to him for a bit, he’s been doing this for over 30 years, amazing! They had all sorts of patterns, widths, and colors. He could look at a shoe and tell you what length you need! We each bought two pairs, I might need a few more after looking at this fine pieces of cloth on my feet!

What a treat this place was! It wasn’t expensive and we probably could have spent even more time there! After four hours, it was time to go. I can’t wait for family and friends to come visit so we can take them, so much fun!

We headed back towards home, but we weren’t quite ready to pack it in. Hmmmm. Our favorite nail salon was open, let’s go! Claws and paws please! Part of the reason we both go are the massage chairs and foot rubs, O M G! I was in heaven!

Now…we’re hungry! I know where we should go! Balkan Store & Bakery! This place is owned by our neighbors and we have been wanting to go for some time! It was so worth it! As the name states, a store and bakery and they didn’t disappoint! I couldn’t read the labels on any of the food items for sale, I looked at the pictures and it definitely was fun to look at everything!

I ordered a veggie gyro with grilled eggplant, very tasty! It came with french fries, which I don’t normally order or eat, but they were fabulous! You could really taste the potato! I know french fries are potatos, but there are some fries that lose the potato flavor, I like them when they’re a little thicker, and you can sink your teeth and taste buds into…yup, you guessed it, potato! I also ordered a pear soda, I really liked it, it wasn’t too sweet and smelled and tasted like pears! PSM had a lamb gyro panini, which he enjoyed as well! His came with a side salad, so I shared my fries, I do that with boys I have a crush on! wink wink

We also had a piece of baklava, one of my weaknesses which I don’t normally eat because I can’t have honey, so every once in a while…and we also had a piece of this very sweet donut like thing called a Balkan Tulumbe Pastry, wow, that was something! All in all, a very good meal!

Now…home to hang with the pups. I have to say, all in all…a very good day. Good breakfast, new toys, haircuts, mani/pedis, a new museum, and a new food to try. It’s all in a day’s work! I might need a nap!

{April 10, 2021} It’s Saturday, what new adventures await us?!

It is Saturday, and it’s a rainy day, what should we do?! It started off liesurely, get up, take the dogs for a walk, then…special treat after they eat, jump in bed with me! They absolutely love it and it really is a treat for them because they’re not allowed on the furniture, except the bed, and only when we let them. Now, Ruby can jump on the bed just fine, Bee needs a little help, so it’s not a guarantee they get on there at all! We have done it a few times and stopped Ruby enough that she knows she needs permission.

I was sitting on the bed, Ruby came into the room, and what she usually does is come to the side of the bed for attention, then…for that treat every so often, I ask “Do you want to come onto the bed?”, I pat the bed and she knows she can jump up. At that point, she usually goes back to the foot of the bed and guages how to jump on! As she settles in, here comes Bee…I grabbed Bee and put her on the bed and after they settled in, we snuggled watching tv until it was time for PSM and I to head out. It was a very nice Saturday morning.

We got dressed, headed out for St Louis and went down to the Dome at America’s Center for the Auto Show 2021. PSM has never been to an auto show and he was curious about it. I’ve been to a few and I love cars, so I was game! And hoping they would have some classic cars, which I really love, and I was right!

As we were looking for a place to park, we could see smoke, hear the tires squealing and screeching, and smell burning rubber…we found it! We headed towards the crowd and could see, smell, and hear much better! The street was blocked off and it was the Drifting with Vaughn Gittin Jr., Chelsea DeNofa & Mystery Driver. I honestly don’t know who we saw, it was loud and I missed what the announcer said. It was a lot of fun to watch, the smell was awful, who likes the smell of burning rubber?! but the action was great! I sent this video to my dad with the subject: “This was not me!” For anyone that knows me, I have always had a lead foot and I have gotten so much better, but I knew my dad would appreciate it!

We headed around the block, it felt like many around the blocks, but we made it! The city was a kind of crowded, the Auto Show, a St Louis Cardinal’s game and FEMA had opened a Covid-19 vaccination site at the Dome. The line for vaccinations was crazy long and we went through the same door, but we went to the right, they went to the left. Very glad the line was not as long to get into the auto show!

We walked in and it was not crowded at all. There were signs posted for social distancing, people walking around with signs and instructing people to wear their masks, and people cleaning each car at all times. They were constantly cleaning the outside and as soon as someone got out of a car, they went in to clean, it was very well run. Not to mention hand sanitizer stations everywhere!

We walked in, and if you have never been to an auto show, they are set up my car manufacturer. Some cars you could get into and get a feel how it would feel to own and drive one, some cars were locked, and others were behind ropes, no entry or touching! I lost track of all the brands on display. They had Alfa Romeos, Chevy, Dodge, Ford, Toyota, Jeep, and so much more, and…my favorite emblem…the Volksvagen! They don’t make Beetles any longer, but it was fun to look and drool over a lot of the cars. Some of my favorites were the muscle cars, especially the Mustangs, I told you, I’m a car girl. They even had a SHELBY truck and a Mustang truck, and the Mustang Mach-E, all electric! If you haven’t seen Ford vs Ferrari with Matt Damon and Christian Bale, what are you waiting for?!

There were some classic cars in the same area from the Horseless Carriage Club, founded in 1944 with 150+ members and one of the oldest surviving car clubs in the world. They had a Cadillac from 1937, one from 1941, and 1950 Buick, 1973 Plymouth, and a 1977 Corvette, those were some beauts! That’s when cars were individuals, had character. I’m not saying that today’s cars don’t have character, hey, Annie has a personality, but there was something about those classics! whew…

We walked through the arena by some vendors towards the Million Dollar Mile, these are some of the highest dollar cars. My focus was on the Corvettes presented by The Original Corvette Club of St Louis and oh boy did they deliver! My two favorites were a black Stingray, I think it was a ’67 or ’68 and a 73 Corvette that had about 80k miles on it! That’s the way to own a classic car, drive it!

Nearby was a custom shop, oh boy, what they can do to a car!

Then…mecca! After VWs, my favorite car, one that I can identify the headlights at 40 paces…Porsche. I can’t explain it, there is something wonderful about a Porsche. I’ll be honest, there are quite a few models that I don’t care for, but a 1985 red 911 is one of my dream cars, but…it MUST have a whale tail! I used to own a 1985 gold 944, that thing cornered like it was on rails! wow!

Needless to say, I was a happy camper when we left!

Food, need food! A new place that I had on my list and wanted to try and…vegan options! Mayo Ketchup by Plantain Girl. Fast, casual Puertorican, Dominican, and Cuban food. Plantains…y u m! This is one of my favorite fruits/foods, and what they did with it, wow!

We ordered and hung out waiting for the food while we explored restaurant. The decor was inviting, some color here and there, brick walls, a boogie boarding Santa, some flamingos, and quite a bit of Star Wars kitch. It was a lot of fun.

We started with Tostones con Aguacate, twice fried plantain, smashed avocado, pickled onion, cilantro, lime, SO good! Then I ordered Vegan Jibarito, which is smashed avocado, lettuce, tomato, pickled red onion, potato sticks, vegan garlic mayo layered between twice fried green plantains. Oh wow, this was fabulous! PSM had El Cubano, a roasted pork, ham, swiss-american cheese, dill pickles, mustard on pressed cuban bread, he said it was yummy!

Back home to take care of the pups and chill for the evening. They were a bit happy to see us, ha ha. What a fabulous day…a car show, classic cars, and a new place to eat. Two more want to do Missouri, check! What’s next?! Cannot wait for tomorrow!

{April 9, 2021} I know it’s Friday, but it felt like a Saturday!

Not complaining! Yup, it’s Fri-yayyyy! I finished most of what I needed to do for the week yesterday, so I worked until about noon and then I was done for the weekend, go us!

We did some stuff around the house, then headed out on the bikes to the Shaw Nature Reserve, they had signs for the daffodils in bloom which I had seen when we passed it on other rides. I love daffodils, you saw them in our backyard, what could make you smile in the Spring bigger than a sea of daffodils?! I remember back in Georgia, I went with TS to Gibbs Gardens for their daffodils, wow! Thousands! in diffferent colors, shades, shapes, and sizes! I

We got to the Shaw Nature Reserve, went in and parked. We saw daffodils, but I think we missed the explosion by a minute. It was hot out and I think they were fuller in bloom a week ago, but what we saw were beautiful! Next year, we’re going at the start of the season! The nice thing, it got is there and when we walked around the grounds, it was beautiful. I know that when the trees are at their fullest it is going to be amazing! For me, I loved the state of the trees as they were because some were still barren, which I think is so stunning, and some were just starting to bloom and bud and to see new life beginning, wow! We didn’t stay too long because we were both wearing jeans and it was getting up to about 80 degrees. We’ll be back for sure!

Back on the bikes, it was time for sustenance. We had passed a sign for Point Labaddie Brewery a few times on this road, so we decided to head there, who knew what was in store for us, but it was a new place for PSM to try some local goodness. If you go…pay attention because the only sign on the road is a blue directional sign that is not very big, you can miss it.

We pulled it, it’s a big barn-type building, lots of property around it, some picnic tables, the kind that have the benches attached, spread out and a tent frame, and lights strung across it and along the tables, I wondered if they had events there, seemed like it, or muic, let’s find out!

We went in and it’s a big open space, you can see right into the back where they brew the beer, the beer and wine list are on the wall above the register and there is a bar and a few of the same tables inside. They had snack bags of chips and cookies, but no food.

We sat at the bar and started talking to the man behind it, the owner’s dad, and J, the guy at the end who is up there a bit, knows the lay of the land. We talked to him about beer, traveling, food, and cars. He was wearing a Mustang hat, figured he was a car guy, yup…three Mustangs, wow! They had low mileage, didn’t drive them enough in my opinion! He does love them though!

Turns out, they do have events! Live music some nights, trivia other nights and on those nights, they have food trucks, which is exactly what I said they needed! We stayed for a while, people came and went, actually, most of them came, got drinks and sat outside. Again, a little toasty in our jeans, I was good inside.

When we talked about food, J and our bartender gave us some great food options in the area, good thing, because we were getting hungry! Snack bags of chips, pretzels, and animal crackers wasn’t cutting it for sustenance! Off we went to one of his recommendations, Letty Lou’s Cafe for Breakfast, Burgers, and Booze. How can you beat that?!

It was only a few miles down the road, away we went! The nice thing… it started cooling off, not as blistering! We found Letty Lou’s, walked in and we were pleasantly surprised! It was a 50s style diner with all retro dinnette tables and vinyl chairs, LOVE! It made me smile, like I was back in my grandmother’s kitchen! I’ve always dreamed of having that type of kitchen!

Our waitress was fun, very chatty, we liked that. We got down to business and ordered food. I had a veggie burger, although, I was torn between that and avocado toast, good thing we can always go back! PSM had what he saw on the menu…a T.V. Dinner! Although it did not come out on a t.v. tray, it looked just like one out of the box, but better! Meatloaf, string beans, and mashed potatos! I had mentioned it when we were looking at the menu back at Point Labbadie’s and he knew what he wanted!

We had fun eating, laughing, talking to the waitresss, looking at the decorations and being together. Another date! Am I a lucky girl or what?! Wait…two nights in a row? Oh yeah! And we’re just getting the weekend started! Seriously, it really did feel like Saturday, we had done so much! What’s next? You’ll just have to wait for tomorrow to see!

{April 8, 2021} I just realized…it felt a little like date night. Now I’m smiling.

PSM was a bit under the weather today, he’s fine, just one of those days. I told you about the storms we’ve been having, Mother Nature doing something to his sinuses, go figure. That being said, he’s been resting and after I took the pups for their evening walk, we were trying to decide what to do for dinner.

Then the conversation begins, you know…”What do you want to do?” “I don’t know, what do you want to do?” “Oh, anything.” “Really?” “Sure”. Lies! lol “How about xyz?” “No, not in the mood for that.” “How about zyx?” “Nope, not in the mood for that.” I know, I know, you’v never experienced that, we’re the only ones! ha ha

“Comfort food!” perfect, what does that mean? To me, comfort food, especially after being sick, was always from Steak n’ Shake: Grilled Cheese, Cheese Fries, and a Cherry Coke no ice in their fabulous plastic to-go cup [MUST be a soda fountain drink!]. Everything on that list is a killer for me, but oh so comforting when it’s going in! sigh… Growing up, my mom would make us noodles with creme cheese. And not just any noodles, maybe it’s my own recollection, but it was the wide kosher egg noodles, with the creme cheese melted and smooth, I even make it for myself every so often, in fact I did a few weeks ago, vegan creme cheese! I don’t have a death wish! And with a touch of salt, wow! Enough about that!

For PSM, comfort food is breakfast. We have eggs and cheese, but nothing else for a good breakfast, which involves eggs, toast, and pancakes, some other stuff would be bonus. And who doesn’t like breakfast for dinner? That was a favorite of ours growing up and it felt like that was a Wednesday meal quite often. Those were some of the fun times when my dad would cook, he can cook a mean breakfast!

We tried to order from a restaurant to deliver, all good, then…message from Grub Hub, the order was cancelled, what? Ok, let’s go out. We jumped in the truck and discussed where to go and ended up at…Waffle House! Or, as we would sometimes affectionately call it in Georgia, the awful waffle! I have never turned down Waffle House and the fact that they are all over St Louis, happy am I!

We picked the Waffle House that was next to the hotel we stayed at when we were house hunting back in 2019, so I have an affection for that one. Aside from the three people working there, just us…was that a sign? The food was good, as always, but the service was a wee bit…let’s just say, I don’t think the waiter had worked there very long.

Decaf coffee for PSM seemed to be a challenge and oh brother, I ordered hot tea. Yes, hot tea. Hot water, tea bag, some sugar. His first question…do you want ice for the tea? Huh? In my hot tea? Next question…do you want sweet or unsweet, as he is in front of the two iced tea dispensers…HOT TEA! We laughed about it, but, c’mon! Then, PSM told me they had to call someone to figure out how to make hot tea. Huh?

Let’s order…One All-Star Breakfast, hold the waffle, that means, for those of you not in the know, hold off making the waffle until we’re ready, that way it comes hot and fresh and doesn’t get soggy. It also means, don’t make it the second you drop our food off, give us a few to get there! Eggs, toast, grits for me, bacon on his plate, thank you!

One thing I can tell you, aside from the service on occasion, the food at Waffle House almost never disappoints. I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad meal there and that’s saying something. I used to go to Waffle House almost every weekend I lived in Georgia. It’s a staple and they’re on every block! The eggs were cooked perfectly, the grits were yummy and I didn’t put sugar in until I was about three quarters done with it, that is saying something. I will say, hash browns are always hit or miss, but what can I say, I like them done and crispy! Food, check!

We talked, caught up on our day, laughed, joked, and had a really good time, despite that fact that PSM was under the weather. As I sit here telling you about it, it was like an impromptu mid-week date night and I’m really glad we decided to go out, it felt nice. I like having a permanent date for everything, but this was a date with my fella, I had a good time. I might be blushing.

I hope he calls me for another date.

{April 7, 2021} A rainbow! What a storm!

The storm is here and it is raging! Wow! We were predicted to have rain, but this is one of those ka-razy storms! We were watching the news and the weather report said possible hail. Hail? In April? I’ve heard about April showers and all, but c’mon!

PSM had to go somewhere earlier today and it was one of those raining sideways, can’t see the car in front of you, wipers at full tilt and it still isn’t enough storms. He didn’t mention thunder or lightning, that’s ok, we had that tonight!

He had taken his bike into the shop yesterday to have something checked and we went today to pick it up and we were moving fast because the rain was coming, it sprinkled on me, but that’s about it. Dropped him off, got home, took the pups for the evening walk sooner than later because it was coming and about 630p, the sky was dark and the weather was messing with the antennae on the tv. I know, I know, we decided to watch a tv show in real time, crazy town! The signal was all messed up, going in and out, skewing the picture, you name it, it was happening!

Then…our sweet scaredy cat of a dog, Ruby, was looking for her parents, big time. She didn’t leave PSM’s side wherever he went, there she went. Mollie, my step-doggie I used to tell you about when I met PSM, and was with us in Hawai’i, she was the same, loud noises, thunder, lightning, fireworks, you name it…I’m sorry I didn’t get any pictures, PSM took one of the beds we call a burrito, because sometimes when she gets in it, it folds around her. He brought that back by the chair, she got in it and he covered her with a towel, like a blanket, and she was safe, oh, she also made sure to be touching him any time he was in the chair! Eventually Bee crawled in there, it was a family affair!

At one point, Ruby came out of the burrito bed and laid down right in front of where I was on the sofa and gave me that look. She definitely knows who mom & dad are! SO stinkin’ cute! I was telling PSM, I might have to start a YouTube channel with some of the videos I take of the dogs!

That’s the storm…now…you can’t have rainbows without a good storm and I looked outside and the rain seemed to have let up, the sky was bright, brightest before the storm, right? The next one anyway, and I was compelled to look outside and there it was, right above our street, a rainbow, big, bright, beautiful. It truly was on par with some of the fabulous rainbows we used to have in Hawai’i. I have to say, I’m glad I never lost my wonder at looking at rainbows, they truly are magical and all I could do was smile.

We took advantage of a lull in the storm, it was about 930p, puppy bed time, even though Bee tried earlier! and put them in the crate, good thing, because the storm started up again and it’s going good and steady out there, some lightning and a thunder clap or roll every so often, but the pups are safe in their space, curled around each other, I just checked, they’re snuggling, music and light are on, they are fine.

I sure hope the rain lets up tomorrow, we have something planned and I’m hoping to not have to change plans completely! Fingers crossed!

After all of this…we better have some fab-u-lous flowers in May!!!

{April 2, 2021} Did I really do that?! Oh my gawd!

Hanging my head in shame, sigh, oh brother. It’s Passover, I did the big one you’re not supposed to do and it’s so silly how it happend!

One of the rules with Passover is not eating bread and I have been good this week, until last night…There’s actually no bread in the house, for my fabulous breakfast egg sandwich, I have been having it on matzah and it’s actually yummy. Every year, when Passover rolls around, I actually try to stay away from bread for a while, see how long I can last, go healthier, sometimes it works, sometimes…

So…last night we went to yoga, then decided to go to dinner and found a place with a veggie burger, let’s go! It was the Three Kings Public House, and it was pretty good. We started off with one of the best bowl of brussel sprouts I have ever had! I think they were blanched first, they were tender and not very bitter, then they were sauteed in homemade garlic oil, topped with parmesan cheese, candied almonds, and sweetened dried cranberries. It was fabulous! I could have eaten the entire bowl!

PSM ordered seafood stew and I ordered a veggie burger, which turned out to be a spicy black bean burger, of course, but I had dinner! It came with lettuce, tomato, and pickles, and avocado, along with sweet potato waffle fries, unfortunately with waaayyyy too much salt, but put enough ketchup and mayo on almost anything, problem solved. After I ordered I smacked my forehead and thought, duh! When the waiter came back, I asked him to lettuce wrap my burger, that threw him for a moment, but it came out just as I ordered.

When we were finished, PSM decided he was in the mood for something sweet and we ended up getting the dessert menu. The only thing on the menu I could eat, because the other two items: chocolate and cheesecake, no thanks, was bread pudding, sure, let’s get that. Not thinking in the least. It came, it looked good and it tasted alright, it was a little dry, but enjoyable and I haven’t had bread pudding in a while. I’m actually picky about my bread pudding, it’s always hit or miss when I have it.

There we are, munching away and half way through, I had put my fork down about a minute earlier, I had a total D U H moment! I smacked my forehead and exclaimed “Seriously?! O M G! I just ate BREAD pudding! It’s Passover, what’s ONE big thing you’re not supposed to eat? And it’s in the NAME of the dish!” I couldn’t believe it! I have been so good, then I do something like that! It’s in the name!

Where is the DOH/Forehead Slap emoji?!

{March 30, 2021} The Court Jester

The Court Jester is one of my all time favorite movies. I know, I know, I’ve said that before, but if you have spent any time with me and my family, especially when I was younger, it was Danny Kaye all the way.

I truly have been a Danny Kaye fan most of my life and one day I’ll tell you all about the other movies of his I love, like The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, yes, before Ben Stiller‘s version, White Christmas with Bing Crosby, A Song is Born, the list goes on. But…today, I’m going to tell you about a movie that myself, my dad, my sister, and my mom all loved. When we were kids, we spent our summers in Mastic Beach, NY, which is on the South Shore of Long Island. We had a VCR, for those of you under 45…ha ha, that’s a video cassette recorder, you would put the cassette tape in, watch it and then have to rewind it before you took it back! and we would bicycle or drive to the library and get movies out.

Two movies that my sister and I absolutely adored were Walt Disney’s Cinderella [1950] and The Court Jester [1955] with Danny Kaye, Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone, Angela Lansbury. Some of you will know who all of these people are, but I’ll give you other references if that helps. I told you about Danny Kaye, but…you might not remember that he played Dr Burns, the dentist on The Cosby Show. Glynis Johns was also the mother, Mrs Banks in Mary Poppins and the grandmother in While You Were Sleeping, she used to come into the deli I worked in, in the Hamptons! Basil Rathbone was most famous as Sir Guy of Gisborne in The Adventures of Robin Hood with Errol Flynn and personally, I think he was one of the best Sherlock Holmes. Lastly, there was Angela Lansbury, Miss Price in Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Mrs Potts in Beauty and the Beast, and probably most known as Jessica Fletcher on Murder, She Wrote. Ok, now you’re caught up on some of the bigger names in the movie.

The tagline in IMBD: A hapless carnival performer masquerades as the court jester as part of a plot against an evil ruler who has overthrown the rightful King. That pretty much says it all. It’s an action/adventure story, with a little swash buckler thrown in, romance, intrigue, all wrapped up in a musical. What more could you want?!

Danny Kaye plays Hubert Hawkins, he’s part of The Black Fox’s band of merry men, gives you a Robin Hood type of vibe. His role is to entertain the merry men, but he wants more, he wants to be out there, on the front lines, fighting, but The Black Fox feels he is best suited where he is. King Roderick I is on the throne, but not by birthright and he is constantly looking over his shoulder because there is a rumor that the royal baby was missed, the rightful heir to the throne and he can’t have that!

His righthand man is the evil Sir Ravenhurst, who does the kings bidding. Basil Rathbone can play a mean one, he can. Little known fact, he is best known for his fencing skills as the greatest swordsman in Hollywood history, what do you think about them apples! He really was great, it was a treat to watch his skills with a blade! What he did made Danny Kaye look good in their scenes.

Something happens at The Black Fox’s camp and Hawkins has to go with the Maid Jean, Glynis Johns, who happens to be The Black Fox’s Captain, to deliver the royal baby to the castle and take the throne back for the royal baby. Along the way, they meet Giacamo, King of Jesters and Jester to the King, and Hawkins takes his place when he gets to the palace, perfect cover!

Throughout the movie there is laughter, silliness, sword fighting, poison, intrigue, romance, spells, threats, singing, dancing, and to top it all off, a baby with a royal birthmark. What more could you want?!

The songs are clever and fun, with Danny Kaye, you know there has to be hillarity, some of the best scenes are where he is being a total goofball. The best scenes also have the most tongue tying lines! “The pellet with the poison’s in the flagon with the dragon; the vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true.”

Here’s a quote from IMDB about that line: Danny Kaye’s daughter, Dena Kaye, said for the rest of his life, when people recognized Danny in a restaurant, they would walk up and spout the entire “brew that is true” speech.

I mentioned romance, right? Hawkins is awkward around women, and when he appears at the castle, Princess Gwendolyn’s handmaid, Griselda, who is also a witch, puts a spell on Hawkins to romance the princess to save her own neck! She makes him braver than he ever was!

The reason I’m telling you all about this movie and these memories is I has it on as background while I was working today. There are certain movies and tv shows that I have seen so many times, I don’t have to actually pay attention to them, I can have them on in the background and still get work done. I might sing along, maybe to The Maladjusted Jester, or Life Could Not Better Be, or any of the songs he sings. When GES and I watched this movie, the same thing with Cinderella, we would watch it, rewind it, then watch it again, rewind, watch, repeat. We don’t have to say much more than one of the lines and we’re off and running, quoting lines and laughing with each other.

Today, while I was watching it, I actually recorded the Pellet with the Poison scene and sent it to my dad and sister, sent good vibes into the universe and got them right back.

My hope is that any one of the clips I posted has maybe piqued your interest just a bit, maybe you’re curious to explore the world of Danny Kaye, even try to find The Court Jester and check out all the merriment. Even if you just watch the clips, maybe look for additional clips and laugh, I’m good with that!

Get it. Got it. Good. Yes friends, if you’ve ever heard me say that…now you know where I got it!

{March 28, 2021} Start with a Ride…End with a Seder

Sounds like the perfect Sunday to me, right?! It’s the second night of Passover, but the seder isn’t until the evening, so we planned a motorcycle ride with some of the guys from our group and another group.

It was supposed to get warm, up to about 57 today, sounds good. I layered up, had my Cuddl Duds on under my jeans, high-top sneaker knee socks, a long sleeve Indian Motorcycle shirt, my Looney Bin zip up sweatshirt, it’s not a thick sweatshirt, but it fits under my Indian Motorcycle Jacket. I wore leather gloves and covered my face with the neck gaiter I got at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. You’d think I was warm enough! Think again! O M G!

The wind, which was not supposed to come in, came in, and oh my word, it was frrreeezzzing! My legs, arms, and chest were fine. My feet and hands…let’s just say when I got off the bike at our first stop, I had trouble walking my feet were so cold and I stayed in the bathroom a few extra minutes, under the warm air dryer! PSM had even given me glove liners, didn’t help after the first 20 minutes!

We had met two of the guys at the usual starting point, then we rode into Illinois, it was about a 25 minute ride, met the rest of the folks that were riding, everyone one geared up, leather chaps, heavy winter coats, face coverings, the works. Mother Nature was trying to beat the tar out of us! She was succeeding. We left from the parking lot and rode to Grafton, only about a 30 minute ride from where we were.

At that point, after I came back from the hand dryer, which I considered taking with me! PSM and I decided we couldn’t keep going with them, they had about another 60 or 70 mile ride. On any other day, I would have been with them, I just couldn’t do it. I was also feeling the weight or in this case, the lack there of, of my bike. It’s a heavy bike, it weighs just under 600 pounds, but what this wind was doing, I was fighting some times to keep her straight, I was never in danger of falling, it just took a little more to keep her upright.

So…we bid everyone a fond farewell and headed back into town in search of breakfast. I will tell you, PSM was texting with one of the guys, they all felt like they had gotten the you-know-what beaten out of them! I think we made the right decision. Before I do another ride like that, much warmer gear!

We rode into Grafton, IL and looked for a place to eat. Google Maps listed a place that said “Great Weekend Breakfast”, perfect! We parked and went in. Guess what they didn’t have. Really? We looked for a few options and settled on the Alton Village Inn Pancake House, sorry, I could only find their menu online, the other links wouldn’t help you if you were interested! It was warm! They had hot tea and decaf coffee, we were happy! The service was pretty good and we were feasting on a veggie omelet and hash browns in no time. Ahhhh.

Eventually, begrudgingly, ha ha, we got back on the bikes and headed home. After getting the pups out of the crate, I headed in one direction…the hottest, steamiest, hottest, did I mention hottest? shower I could take! I took a few extra minutes in there, it was hot and steamy! And I finally started to get feelings back into my extremities again. Warm clothing on, we did stuff around the house and relaxed and eventually, it was time for second night seder with PSM’s family.

I was also able to sneak in a Zoom hello with my family, that was dad, LaLa, my sister, GES, my b-i-l ACS, and my nieces, EJS, and MGS. They were also zooming with extended family friend, I haven’t seen them all in a while, it was great! This was while we were on a break from PSM’s family. Tonight went a lot quicker than last night, less people so less technical difficulties, still a lot of fun, stories, laughter, and love, and food, always food. We went through the exodus out of Egypt, drank our four cups of wine, but…BTK, who wrote up the virtual haggadah added two extra blessings over the wine for PSM and I, hmmm…broke matzah, brought it together again, let in Elijah, and were blessed, what more could you want?!

We started with a ride and ended with a seder, life is good!

{March 27, 2021} Chag Sameach [Happy Holiday]

Tonight is the first night of Passover or Pesach in Hebrew. The story of Passover is the Jews exodus out of Egypt in the time of Pharoh. There are great stories associated with Passover, the exodus, Moses, Pharoh [they weren’t all bad!] and I’m sure we’ve talked about them in the past, check this one out A zissen pesach [I actually titled this post A zissen pesach, imagine my surprise when I found my past post A zissen pesach! Here’s another A Happy Passover. The links I added can give you lots of insight! into the holiday, but that’s not what I want to talk about tonight.

Passover is actually one of my favorite holidays, in case you didn’t know! I’ve loved it since I was a kid, mostly because it’s the time my family gets together and spends time with each other, shares stories, food, friendship, camaraderie, and love. What more could you want?! We started at my grandmother’s house in Brooklyn, NY, then moved it to Staten Island, NY, where I grew up, then my sister’s house in Boston, MA. When I met PSM, we did the divide and conquer, First Night Seder with my family, second night seder with his family, win-win!

Even though our families and some of the traditions are different, the basics are the same. Similar seder meal, same prayers, maybe not said or sung the same way, but the same, and rules, rules for what we eat and how we eat it, some of the foods are the same because they are part of the story and seder, the haggadahs, the prayer books, might not be the same, but you could almost interchange them. But the one thing that is the same, the laughter that happens, no matter what.

Some great things came up today. First…my dad texted and asked where we should stop for pizza before the seder. This made my sister and I laugh. The tradition was…when we had seder at my grandmother’s house, my mom would spend the night before in Brooklyn with my grandmother prepping and cooking for the seder. The afternoon of Passover, my dad, sister, and I would drive into Brooklyn to my grandmother’s house, but first, we would stop for a slice of pizza. Even when we moved Passover to Staten Island, then Boston, we still had pizza as the ‘last meal’. I say last meal because it’s the last time we would have leavened bread, bread that rises, is made with wheat. Starting with the seder, we eat unleavened bread or matzoh.

I texted with a few Jewish friends today and one of my friends, one of my oldest friends from high school, CGS told me that she had been thinking about seders at my grandmother’s house, which made me smile, especially when she told me they were her first seders. As soon as she and I became friends, she was instantly a part of my family, and I became part of hers. She remembers how much fun and silly it was at my grandmothers and the best…she said she was thinking about my dad and the reclining chair!

The tradition stems from wealthy people in olden times reclining in their chairs when they ate meals. Not exactly the most comfortable thing today, but…it’s a tradition. Now…some people would use a pillow to recline, the thing that CGS reminded me of was the chair at the head of the table at my grandmother’s, it was actually broken and when it came time to talk about reclining, my dad would take the back off the chair and literally recline! That really was one of my favorites, and what a memory to share with friends! Thanks for that.

There were other traditions that we shared, and I could go on, but this post would go on for days. Tonight begins the Feast of Passover and I wish you a Zissen Pesach.

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