Why Las Vegas?

For some odd reason my husband John has decided to retire in Las Vegas - not actually retiring for at least 5 more years, but he can never be too prepared. I say the new house is near Red Rock Canyon. He tells everyone the new house is close to Red Rock Casino. Subtle difference but shows how opposites attract.

Of course there’s no downstairs bedroom - climbing stairs is just built in exercise. 

Happy Birthday Nick! And Tomato Plants From My Friend Amy Who We Almost Never See During The Summer Because Her Garden Gets All Her Attention

My wonderful son had a birthday so I made him a card. So much fun to cut and paste stuff for people you love. I hope he puts it up on the refrigerator like I used to do with his.  

Here are my heirloom tomato plants started by the amazing gardening Amy, being carefully tended by John. What does my responsibility with regard to these beauties appear to be? Eating them, I suppose.

The Birds

Someone who thought they were helping told me that I should never blog when I am out-of-town. But since I'm almost always out-of-town, I've decided (after thinking about the advice for two years) to just post anyway. About the interesting things that can happen when I am away from Tulsa - like my husband hearing rustling in his bathroom early in the morning, which no one else every heard. Coming from in back of the dryer. If it was a mouse it was the cleanest mouse around. And if it was a opossum (my guess due to their ability to remain totally silent and still) - well - Yikes!!
Look what happened when he banged on the wall next to the dryer vent!

Good Times!

Grandbaby Grant Is Here

7 Pounds 3 Ounces - 20 Inches Tall

Finished A Terrific Project And Met My Husband's Favorite Newsperson - Jennifer Zeppelin

Newsperson?  Is that even a word?  Maybe News Personality?  Political correctness isn't what I'm aiming for here.  Can't say his favorite Newsman, because she isn't a man.  My point, and I do have one is that male or female,  KTUL

Channel 8 Chief Meteorologist Jennifer Zeppelin is his favorite!  And she came to the German American Society of Tulsa food booth at Oktoberfest where I was volunteering.  I knew she was good on TV, but she's even better in person.

The main thing I have been spending my time in has been a project to make Christmas Cards for Servicemen and Women who are away from home. I gave an all day party on Tuesday where people stopped in and colored in images that I stamped ahead of time, glued snowflakes on other cards, and embossed even more cards. All of these cards cost very little to make but look really good. 

My friend Johnny made some amazing food - this Christmas color Torta with Pesto and Sundried Tomatoes was delicious. 

Here he is making Grapes rolled in Cream Cheese and then in Chopped Almonds. And the most terrific Scones. But the my favorite was his version of Pimento Cheese Sandwiches.  

Les Klinger In Tulsa, Philbrook Museum Garden, And Other Groovy Surprises

Les Klinger is a very attractive man.  But with a mind so sharp - so Renaissance - that he could look like a toad and still have every eye in the room the moment he gets up to speak.  So here's the upsetting part - John and I didn't get to see him speak.  And it was not his fault.  Or our fault.  For months our Tulsa Sherlockian Society, The Afghanistan Perceivers of Oklahoma , had been planning a dinner to celebrate our 40th Anniversary.  And engaged Les Klinger - the most exciting guest any Sherlock Holmes group could imagine - to come and speak.  The only thing we were absolutely assured of was that no matter who else wanted to have him speak during the day, it would only happen if he was also going to speak at the Dinner that night.  So when we read the numerous emails about the dinner at 7 on Saturday, what else were we to think but that we would be entertained by the man that Robert Downey Jr asks when he wants to know something about Sherlock Holmes.  Surprise - Tulsa University had a big presentation at 4 - where Les gave the only talk (and we were told over and over again how amazing it was) he would give in Tulsa.  And not a word - not an email - not a phone call - to tell most of us that this happened.  Of course if you worked or were a student at Tulsa University you got to go.  If you were the Texas group that came up for the Dinner, you got told (on Thursday, so not much advance notice).  But the rest of us?        

 We got entertained by "Radio Plays" written by very clever members and performed by professional actors.

Could I have had a worse hair-day?  (Doesn't he looks a little like a straight version of Tim Gunn, but more fit?) 

I have noticed that most of these pictures look the same - but my Grandson is Waving!  I'm sure the pictures I take the end of January when he is finally born will be even better.  I don't think Amanda will teach after he's born, at least for the rest of the school year.  Sorry, all you Cal students - just wait and take your French classes next year.  Our gain is your loss. 

My niece - the one who told me I should start blogging when we moved to Tulsa so the family could keep up with my fast-paced, exciting life - is quite the seamstress.  This is her cute son, Joseph, dressed up like Krisoff from the movie Frozen.  The trim is some Fake Fur that I picked in the Los Angeles Garment District because fur vests were in fashion.  And I sent it to my nieces to make costumes with because as sometimes happens with sewing people, I didn't get it made into a vest until vests were out of fashion.  (I know - they are back in style again.  But you just can't keep everything waiting for that to happen.)  (I mean, really, how many of you still have Bell Bottom Pants waiting for the next time they're the Hot Item?)  (Unless, of course, you are saving them for a Hippie Party, which I totally understand.)  (Groovy, Baby!) 

 

And from my weekly visit to the Philbrook Museum, here is a picture of the post card of The Little Shepherdess by William Bouguereau - 1889.  Because I am nothing if not Law Abiding, I would never sneak a picture of the actual painting or lift an unauthorized picture someone else took, all I can show is this tiny grainy image.  But my point, and I do have one, is that this is exactly what my mother looked like when I was a child.  And it is appropriate, since her ancestors were raising sheep in Gap, in the French Alps, when they decided to come to Southern California. 

 Wildlife from the Philbrook Gardens - a Praying Mantis.  I won't bore you with another spider picture today, but anyone who knows me knows that I am a fan of the spider for pest control.  I have a beautiful one on my front porch, which was in danger of becoming a meal for one of these ravenous carnivores.  I grabbed a plastic bag and captured it and made John drive me and my captive bug the 5 miles to the church that Garth Brooks goes to.  And dropped him off unharmed.  Seemed apt. 

Indoor Golf, Butternut Squash Soup, Corvettes, Sugar Pumpkins, Garden Bounty, Pub Quiz With Chris, The Crayon's Improv And Do-It-Yourself Banana Splits With Casey, And Adorable Random Donkey. So How Was Your Week?

I had a busy week while John was in Canada playing "Indoor Golf" - he went there for an outdoor Golf Tournament, but there was snow.  (And those Canadians know how to show a visitor a good time no matter what the weather.)  First I went to the store with Michelle - in her Corvette.  Later in the week I went with Casey and her little one, Greyson.  A double treat!  Anyone who knows me knows I love the grocery store.  You can take imaginary vacations to Thailand, Japan, Mexico, Switzerland (my favorite - it's the Chocolate stuff, or the Cheese for Fondue), Italy - I think I've explained it enough.

I made some Butternut Squash Soup too.  Went to the garden and pulled up some of my onions and fried them.  Baked the squash whole - yes, whole just like baking a potato!  Who knew you could do that?  When it's cooked, you can easily peel it and pull out all the seeds.  Sprinkled some Curry Powder on the frying onions to cook it just a bit - I always think Curry Powder works better if it's cooked.  Then chucked it all in my Ninja Blender that Nick and Kelsey gave me for Christmas.  That is one fabulous blender, I must say.  Added an 8 oz package of Cream Cheese and thinned it with water until it looked like soup.  What's that?  Four ingredients?  You don't count water as an ingredient, do you?      

 And it's finally Sugar Pumpkin season - my Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Browned Butter Icing are next. 

 (That's Michele's Corvette parked in front of my garage.  Can you believe she apologized for it, since getting in involved being quite low to the ground?)

One of the things I do all the time in California that I had never done in Oklahoma was a Pub Quiz.  After all, how am I supposed to find a Pub Quiz in Tulsa if when I Google "Pub Quiz" and "Tulsa", all that comes back is my own blog??  So I Googled "Trivia" and "Tulsa" - still didn't work - but when I added "Night" I found that the Baker Street Pub had a Quiz every Wednesday.  So I told people who I thought would enjoy such a thing, but I would have gone alone and tried to pick up a team there, I was so Jazzed.  Luckily Chris showed up too.  (His girlfriend couldn't make it because she is currently in New York for the year.  He will eventually return there, but probably not until April.  She's my friend and I am sorry she is missing him, but he is really great on a Quiz team.)  All we need now is someone who knows current music.  Johnny?  Cailin?  Did I mention that there's a $50 prize?  That's a lot of free beer. 

 

 John was still gone Friday night, which is pretty unusual.  Casey had a few hours while her husband, Aaron took Greyson to visit Grandma for the weekend.  Since Casey is 8-29/30th months pregnant, we decided to go downtown, eat spicy food, dance in the street, and hopefully get some labor going.  We had Pizza and Truly Excellent Fried Pickles at Joe Momma's first.  Then we wandered around listening to the band that they had blocked off the street for.  Noticed the Comedy Parlor offering Improv Lessons - and who hasn't wanted to take Improv lessons?  Turns out there was a show going on right then.  $5 each for the one hour all-ages (means there can be children in the audience) performance by The Crayon's.  There actually were children in the audience, two very brave homeschooled girls (I knew they were homeschooled because The Crayon's kept mentioning this.)  But my point, and I do have one, is that the show wasn't particular funny, partially because they felt the need to play to these young girls.  Who were very brave and quick witted and came up with something nice to shout out all the time.  When The Crayon's asked for a suggestion for the subject of their "movie" they would act out, one of these cuties said "You!"  This is when Casey hollered "Yes EWE - The Sheep's Story" which resulted in some of the funniest Improv imaginable.   

 After laughing hysterically for the rest of the evening, and Casey still not going into labor, we ended up at Freddy's, home of amazing Frozen Custard, having Banana Splits, which they accidently left the banana out of.  So they handed her a banana and a plastic knife.  Good Times! 

Cutest Random Donkey Ever!