I am a real technical genius. I entitled this blog, hit the wrong button, and was told it already posted, and I hadn't written a single word! I AM clever in that way.
The title may be a bit confusing, but it is because I am gearing up for a couple of weeks of cooking. Brandon, Audrey's youngest, is interested in learning to cook so on Tuesday we are beginning a series of lessons. He has planned a menu for Tuesday night that he and will cook for his family. I can't wait....BBQ baby backs, mashed potatoes, broccoli, Caesar Salad and apple pie. I hope it doesn't discourage him too much (all the work), because next week my 'chef' friend, Dale Falkenstein, is going to join me are we are doing a whole week of cooking classes for Brandon and 3 of his friends. When they get through, they should have some very sound basics for cooking....at least we hope so. We are making it very teenager friendly, however....the end products will be yummies like fresh salsa, homemade marinara (which will go on their homemade pizza dough, homemade mac and cheese, Reds herbed rolls, yummy BBQd items and chocolate cream pie....
Another pot of soup was brought to fruition a week ago. In April I started teaching a VERY basic course in bells to 5 young Primary kids in our ward. They worked very hard (of course I had to bring treats every week to achieve that goal), and on the 8th, they did a final performance in Primary. Westarted with "Twinkle Twinkle," with them playing the melody line. Some of them had to handle 3 bells. We then went to the chord accompaniment format and they again played "Twinkle" and followed it with "Apricot Popping" and "My Dad." Of course the kids in Primary all sang along. We did it for both Junior and Senior Primary, and they were exceptional performers, if I do say so myself. Some of the mothers heard kids utter that "they wished they could have done that." Alas....their mothers didn't sign them up, but I am secretly glad I only had 5. It was so much easier....
Well....that's my soup for the week....
Monday, June 16, 2008
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Firmly into that 8th decade, now.....
These posts are out of order, but I had to go visit Liz' post to figure out about things that I could rattle on about. A birthday is one of them.
I have now passed the milestone marker, and I am chalking up the numbers in this 8th decade of life....unbelievable. I had a wonderful birthday. My trip to Tahoe was the highlight. In fact, I told Spence if he would take me there he wouldn't have to buy an anniversary gift, Mother's Day gift, Birthday gift or Christmas gift. Spence, being no dummy, and hating to pick out gifts, was quick to snatch up the offer.
I also share my birthday with Matthew, my now 16 year old grandson, so we always do something fun together. This year, after Audrey brought over a 'gorgeous' red wool hat, trimmed with purple velvet (one of those ones for 'older' ladies), we met the rest of the family at Del Taco for Taco Tuesday...a cheap way to get a meal for $2. It was noisy and fun. The rest had just come from driving go-carts for Matthew's birthday celebration.
When I got home, the dog, Kasey, had been having fun with my hat. She managed to rip the stitches and completely undo the inside headband. The velvet rose on the front was VERY wet, so my guess is that she had it in her mouth ready to consume it when she heard us returning. Saved by the skin of her teeth....lucky dog. Fortunately I was able to totally restore the hat to its original condition, and it is now hanging on the hat rack in the hallway... Lucky dog....
I continued my celebration the next day enjoying lunch at Marie Callendars with my good friends Marilyn and Jeri. I supplied the coupon (courtesy of Marie) and we all enjoyed pie for dessert. I don't know why people dread birthdays. I look forward to them. Maybe it is because I enjoy pie!
One other note...Laurie Chapman, who used to live in Simi years ago, called for my birthday. She always remembers because her daughter shares the same day....so I called her daughter just for fun. It is nice to renew old ties.
I have now passed the milestone marker, and I am chalking up the numbers in this 8th decade of life....unbelievable. I had a wonderful birthday. My trip to Tahoe was the highlight. In fact, I told Spence if he would take me there he wouldn't have to buy an anniversary gift, Mother's Day gift, Birthday gift or Christmas gift. Spence, being no dummy, and hating to pick out gifts, was quick to snatch up the offer.
I also share my birthday with Matthew, my now 16 year old grandson, so we always do something fun together. This year, after Audrey brought over a 'gorgeous' red wool hat, trimmed with purple velvet (one of those ones for 'older' ladies), we met the rest of the family at Del Taco for Taco Tuesday...a cheap way to get a meal for $2. It was noisy and fun. The rest had just come from driving go-carts for Matthew's birthday celebration.
When I got home, the dog, Kasey, had been having fun with my hat. She managed to rip the stitches and completely undo the inside headband. The velvet rose on the front was VERY wet, so my guess is that she had it in her mouth ready to consume it when she heard us returning. Saved by the skin of her teeth....lucky dog. Fortunately I was able to totally restore the hat to its original condition, and it is now hanging on the hat rack in the hallway... Lucky dog....
I continued my celebration the next day enjoying lunch at Marie Callendars with my good friends Marilyn and Jeri. I supplied the coupon (courtesy of Marie) and we all enjoyed pie for dessert. I don't know why people dread birthdays. I look forward to them. Maybe it is because I enjoy pie!
One other note...Laurie Chapman, who used to live in Simi years ago, called for my birthday. She always remembers because her daughter shares the same day....so I called her daughter just for fun. It is nice to renew old ties.
In Exile at Lake Tahoe
Spence and I recently returned from a lovely week at Lake Tahoe. It was a 'free' week at an RCI resort which we received when we sat through one of those traditional 90 minute sales pitches in Mazatlan, two years ago. (We went there with our whole family, minus Courtney.) When I say 'free' I really mean that it is free except for the $189 reservation fee, but face it...how else would I get a week at a 5* hotel in South Tahoe?
On our way up we stopped in Sacramento for a visit with our friends, the Morikonis (probably spelled that one wrong), and Diane fixed us a superb salmon dinner. We worked together at the lab for many many years, before she got smart and got another job....which ended up with her getting a lovely husband. Bonus for signing on!
The weather in Tahoe was about 80 degrees when we arrived, which held for the next day. But we were so bushed the next day that we did practically NOTHING. I did get up and do my water aerobics in the morning, however.
On Tuesday, we took a lunch cruise on the lake (paid for in advance by promising to attend another 90 minute presentation), which was lovely. The weather was about 72 and the skies were blue, and if I can figure out how to do it, I will post some pictures, Emerald Bay was exquisite.
On Wednesday the temp dropped to the 50's, but it was still gorgeous so we took the day and drove all around the lake, stopping at every Vista and eating Chinese for lunch. We took a couple of short walks at various points...Spence climbed down some rocks to water's edge, but I respected my knee and hip and just stood topside photographing his efforts.
We took enough food with us that I fixed almost all our dinners in the room. One night we decided to splurge, but got downstairs too late....Tahoe closes up at 9. They recommended dinner at a casino, but.....didn't want to do that so we trudged to McDonalds (conveniently just across the parking lot from the hotel.) The next night we went downstairs plenty early and enjoyed a superb dinner at the in-house restaurant. We each ordered different entrees and then discreetly SPLIT them...yum. When the waiter came by and asked if we wanted anything else, I asked for the recipe for the tomato bisque....but he never came back with it. We split a dessert, which the waiter threw in for free, and then enjoyed a 15% discount for beings guests. NOT bad....
On Friday we drove up to Virginia City, which was a cool trip. I love old western towns and Spence loved the Radio Museum we discovered. He spent 1.5 hours just looking and talking to the proprietor. I thoroughly enjoyed sitting and talking to his wife. We had lunch in one of the oldest buildings in town, and then, in a shop, watched a craftsman making a beaver hat (they turn the fur into felt), which was really interesting. We also bought ice cream and homemade candy at the local store. The only disappointment was that we never did see Little Joe, Hoss or Mr. Cartwright. In fact, we couldn't figure out where the Ponderosa could have been. They always talked about going to town (Virginia City), and the Ponderosa was in the pines, but there were no pines within 20-25 miles of Virginia City....that must have been some trip into town.
The trip home was a delight. I talked Spence into traveling via the 395, which is a scenic route almost all the way to Palmdale. The weather had turned yucky over the weekend (started raining on Friday, intermittently), so the first half of our trip was in slight rain, and then snow, as we crossed over the two summits. I have great pics of that and here is one.
As is always the case, it is GOOD to return home....and especially to sleep on my own Select Comfort bed....I never do well in hotels.
So it was farewell to Tahoe and lovely memories...
On our way up we stopped in Sacramento for a visit with our friends, the Morikonis (probably spelled that one wrong), and Diane fixed us a superb salmon dinner. We worked together at the lab for many many years, before she got smart and got another job....which ended up with her getting a lovely husband. Bonus for signing on!
The weather in Tahoe was about 80 degrees when we arrived, which held for the next day. But we were so bushed the next day that we did practically NOTHING. I did get up and do my water aerobics in the morning, however.
On Tuesday, we took a lunch cruise on the lake (paid for in advance by promising to attend another 90 minute presentation), which was lovely. The weather was about 72 and the skies were blue, and if I can figure out how to do it, I will post some pictures, Emerald Bay was exquisite.
On Wednesday the temp dropped to the 50's, but it was still gorgeous so we took the day and drove all around the lake, stopping at every Vista and eating Chinese for lunch. We took a couple of short walks at various points...Spence climbed down some rocks to water's edge, but I respected my knee and hip and just stood topside photographing his efforts.We took enough food with us that I fixed almost all our dinners in the room. One night we decided to splurge, but got downstairs too late....Tahoe closes up at 9. They recommended dinner at a casino, but.....didn't want to do that so we trudged to McDonalds (conveniently just across the parking lot from the hotel.) The next night we went downstairs plenty early and enjoyed a superb dinner at the in-house restaurant. We each ordered different entrees and then discreetly SPLIT them...yum. When the waiter came by and asked if we wanted anything else, I asked for the recipe for the tomato bisque....but he never came back with it. We split a dessert, which the waiter threw in for free, and then enjoyed a 15% discount for beings guests. NOT bad....
On Friday we drove up to Virginia City, which was a cool trip. I love old western towns and Spence loved the Radio Museum we discovered. He spent 1.5 hours just looking and talking to the proprietor. I thoroughly enjoyed sitting and talking to his wife. We had lunch in one of the oldest buildings in town, and then, in a shop, watched a craftsman making a beaver hat (they turn the fur into felt), which was really interesting. We also bought ice cream and homemade candy at the local store. The only disappointment was that we never did see Little Joe, Hoss or Mr. Cartwright. In fact, we couldn't figure out where the Ponderosa could have been. They always talked about going to town (Virginia City), and the Ponderosa was in the pines, but there were no pines within 20-25 miles of Virginia City....that must have been some trip into town.
The trip home was a delight. I talked Spence into traveling via the 395, which is a scenic route almost all the way to Palmdale. The weather had turned yucky over the weekend (started raining on Friday, intermittently), so the first half of our trip was in slight rain, and then snow, as we crossed over the two summits. I have great pics of that and here is one.
As is always the case, it is GOOD to return home....and especially to sleep on my own Select Comfort bed....I never do well in hotels.So it was farewell to Tahoe and lovely memories...
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
A weekend in the life of Grandma Linda....boring
It is now June 2nd, and I can hardly believe the year is almost half over. My life last weekend was a whirl of my favorite pastime...theater. It gets very expensive sometimes, when you have so many friends in so many good shows, but we manage to volunteer to usher to see several things, and then with the good old senior discount......
Friday night Spence and I ushered for Raymond Michael's Elvis Tribute. I met Ray almost 22 years ago in HMS Pinafore at Moorpark College. He does a great Elvis show...keeps the audience right in the palm of his hand, and he looks great, too. He also sings in tune...something Elvis didn't always manage.
Saturday night I went to see The Curious Savage. If you have NEVER seen it, try to find a production. It is one of the most enjoyable shows I have seen...and it is G rated...takes place in a 'home' for the insane. I laughed and then I cried... David Burr was one of the characters, and he is a VERY good actor.
Sunday I went to see a Curtain Youth Theater production of Into the Woods. Those kids were astounding....The junior version only does the first act, but the voices and the acting were incredible. By the way, I did manage to attend Church, too.
After our Ward Picnic tonight, J.J. came over and we watched the movie Stardust...delightful fantasy.
Well, I just don't have anything clever or amusing to say, so I will sign off for now.
Friday night Spence and I ushered for Raymond Michael's Elvis Tribute. I met Ray almost 22 years ago in HMS Pinafore at Moorpark College. He does a great Elvis show...keeps the audience right in the palm of his hand, and he looks great, too. He also sings in tune...something Elvis didn't always manage.
Saturday night I went to see The Curious Savage. If you have NEVER seen it, try to find a production. It is one of the most enjoyable shows I have seen...and it is G rated...takes place in a 'home' for the insane. I laughed and then I cried... David Burr was one of the characters, and he is a VERY good actor.
Sunday I went to see a Curtain Youth Theater production of Into the Woods. Those kids were astounding....The junior version only does the first act, but the voices and the acting were incredible. By the way, I did manage to attend Church, too.
After our Ward Picnic tonight, J.J. came over and we watched the movie Stardust...delightful fantasy.
Well, I just don't have anything clever or amusing to say, so I will sign off for now.
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