the coldest day so far, but our hearts are warm

On Friday, we hosted about two hundred dentists & staff to hear John Jameson, kind of a dental motivational guru. It was a good show, but I was delighted to get home for some poached salmon, bay scallops just run under the broiler with some salad & grilled asparagus, and fizzy water. We did not have to get up early Saturday, either.

Saturday night we went to our friends Ray & Marsha's Christmas party. Their son Jason just got into UB dental Friday, so it was celebratory for that reason, also. Everyone gathered out front of their house, Santa was there, and if everyone yelled "Merry Christmas" loud enough, the house Christmas lights would come on. It took a couple of tries, but when they lit up, Clark W. Griswold would have been green (and red) with envy. They even had the elf who wanted to become a dentist in lights, appropriately enough. They also had an awesome spread, including the "Big Night" deep dish extravaganza. Julia & I stayed ok with the diet, except I had a shot of Midleton with Ray and a few other party goers. We had a good time.

This morning, Julia had the nursing home to eucharistic minister. We went to Mass at eight, together, which always makes my spirit soar. While Julia was giving communion to the elders, I picked up our poinsettia order from the school gym. I had to carry them a moderate distance outside, because I parked with poor strategery, and it was pretty cold. The coldest day so far. Not cool enough to bring John & Dan in from hunting, though. Admirable tenacity. The flowers are beautiful, they remind me of Papa. He & Julia found the largest, reddest ones.

Mike came out with the girls, then Julia came home. Dan came in from the fields, warmed up a little, then had to go. John came back an hour or so later. Neither saw anything but tracks. Cecilia phoned, we talked while she was heading into the library. God bless the students as they go through this last week. I am proud to see them do so well.

Once Julia got back, the day developed quite nicely. Julia & Mike went to the village, Louis & I went to Matt & Theresa's and processed his deer. There is a roast in the crockpot as I write.

Mary came home for dinner with Jess Rapone. We had one of Julia's excellent roast chickens, just perfect. She & I cannot have rice on the diet, but the apsaragus and little green beans, haricots vert, were great. Mike took the girls home, Mary & Jess returned to their place, GG went home and Louis is upstairs. A Christmas Story is on in the kitchen, I will help with the few remaining dishes, and go to bed with my love. Or shoot my eye out.

I hope you all had a fine weekend, and a good week coming up. Stay warm and stay in touch. I hope to do the Christmas Eve party and the 26th menu planned this weekend. Julia is eucharistic ministering at the 4:00 Mass on the 24th, so we will start carousing after that. I can't wait.

By Definition, A Fine Holiday

Thanksgiving was everything I hoped for. Lots of visiting with the fam, wonderful traditional food, a few nice wines. Julia & I were alone in the kitchen well before the others arrived, and we had a bottle of Krug 1988 while we put some dishes together. Any champagne is a treat, especially to have with my love, but a really great one, on a happy day, the two of us in the kitchen....



We got some deer hunting in, Lou got a terrific doe on Friday. Along with the venison from Mike & John, we will eat well this winter. The girls went to see the Christmas show at Shea's, so John, Louis, Miles & I made some sausage from the venison and Louis made his best jerky yet. The sausages were prizewinners, grilled perfectly and fed to the hungry post show crowd. I did not think I could down even one, they are pretty big, but we demolished what was cooked.

The long weekend is also notable. I became acutely aware of how nice it was on returning to the office. This was made even a little less pleasant because Julia & I are south beach dieting. We both feel a little wierd, I think it is from not having wine. After the two week hazing period, limited consumption is OK, so we are hanging on. The dinners together have been pretty nice, though.

The diet is not at all good for stamina. I'm heading for bed. I hope you all sleep well tonight and have a fine day tomorrow. Julia has to report for jury duty tomorrow. We'll see what that brings.

Let the Wild Rumpus Begin

Thanksgiving is almost upon us. It is one of my favorite holidays, mostly because of all the things I have to be thankful for. ( I don't think you can end a sentence like that, it is something up with which I will not put.) Tonight, we will begin prepping for the dinner on Thursday. I plan to peel the creaming onions, and drink good red wine with Julia. The turkeys are on the back porch, the pecans for the pies are now gently roasted, they are jaw dropping good. We will have wagyu cheeseburgers first, however. Julia is on her way home, I am going to light the grill.

I can't wait until I see you all this awesome weekend. To those I will not have the pleasure of visiting with, have a great Thanksgiving.

The Time of My Life

Julia & I have been loosely planning dinner together for a week or so, but have been put off by delightful occasions and,a couple of other interruptions. The best delightful occasion was last night, which was Kobe beef chili with Esther, Julia & Miles. GG was here, also. We heard about the train engineer who honked the train horn for them, and Miles told us "how the train goes". What an adventure! Julia was able to see Lisa, Maeve & Addie this afternoon, can't wait to see them myself.

Tonight, after a pretty heavy day in EA, demands comment. We opened a Veuve, and drank moderately, a good bit left in it, but it was so good. Then, we made chicken rice for GG, who has a bug. Next, salt & pepper on thick slices of Hudson valley FG (foie gras, amazingly almost pure calories from fat) browned up then put on spring mix with raspberry and late harvest Vidal from Widmer reduction. Remarkably excellent wine, making us proud to be from NY. The FG is from NY, also, come to think of it. Bursting with pride. You can't drink sweet wine much more than a small glass, so we opened a '99 Dominus, crappy California wine. We have been pretty moderate, but we won't wash the good glasses until morning.

We are listening to my Pandora mix, Great Big Sea presently, which leads to Ireland talk, which leads to reminiscences of past travel. Julia & I have been so fortunate to have taken trips while we are still young enough to remember them. That will probably change before too long. What were we talking about?

Well, tomorrow is Friday. We are all on the edge of our seats for Mike, who probably got the highest score in history on the bar. There must be a frontal lobotomy joke about the bar somewhere in here. I'd rather have a bottle in front of me, anyway, and hope to with Mike this weekend. Amy Winehouse is singing about rehab now, but the night is really young, so this must be a Pandora mistake.

Louis had a good meeting with a banker today. All it takes is good looks & a whole lotta money, you know. It will be incredible to go back into Garvey's all together, to eat Brendan's food (and Ian's) and drink at Lou's bar.

The students, Ceil & Mary, are being crushed, as often happens this time of year. I am proud of them and pray for their good grades, prayers of thanks, of course. Ann Marie's daughter is beginning to student teach, and the hamster in her classroom, Cupcake, expired in front of the third grade today. Not in the lesson plan.

Deer season opens in two days. Louis, John & I erected the world's most awesome hunting stand last Saturday. It was a miraculous series of events that took us from General Welding, to Bach's for a flatbed truck to carry it home, to the field, where nobody was seriously injured. There is still time, though.

Julia has just returned from getting GG into bed. We will hang out together for a while, then go to bed ourselves. The Five Blind Boys of Alabama are now singing LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. Pandora does not make many mistakes.

The Good Old Hockey Game

Well, we had a fine evening at the good old hockey game, but we lost kinda painfully. There were mercifully few of the usual "hosers in the other team's sweater", thank You, God. The lead up to the game is emotional Buffalo, super concentrated. I am so happy to live here. One of Mary's Iroquois classmates, Megan, was at the game with her father. He had won the tickets in a golf tournament.

Working in EA today, pretty relaxed, bunch of patients we know. I have learned a lot of EA history just talking with patients there. Modest amount of gossip, too. I got to see Miles this afternoon, before he had to go home. We went to say goodbye to GG, then we enjoyed a few minutes on the deck. It was pretty cool in the wind, but the lure of the swingset was strong, especially with the grass so wet. Next time, Miles.

Julia has made a delicious beef barley soup for dinner. Brilliant! It is the perfect night for a hearty soup. I am going to enjoy dinner, and I'll let you know how it was , later.

Fall colors, hunting, hockey and wine

It has been a few weeks since the last post. I went back to Dallas with Mohamed, which turned out to be a cool trip. I had a weekend with Julia, Frank & Mary Pat in Canandaigua, mostly winery visiting. It was a terrific weekend trip with folks we are grateful to have in our lives. How blessed we are on that topic! We met up with Dawn and her friend Jim for the Bills game that Sunday, so getting back to work seemed like a slower pace.

It is fall, for sure, today. John & Mike brought the camera card in from the trail cam, with several new bucks photographed. One of the bow hunters took a buck, and another got a doe. We had a good venison stew together on Sunday, with the little ones enjoying the day, also. My favorite kind of day.

Going to see the Sabres tonight, playing Ottawa, should win. Julia elects not to go on nights preceding her days with the grandchildren, so Mike, Frank and Dan (Katie's) will come. Like everything else in Buffalo, there are always people you know, so we will surely see some of our friends. I'll let you know how the game went.

a beautiful day in the neighborhood

It is fairly early on Staurday morning, the rest of the fam is asleep, except Rae. The dew outside is exceptionally heavy, but the sun is rising fast. So quiet and beautiful. Many of the fam are coming out to the country today, we always have such a great time, one of the best parts of my already excellent life. There are a couple of doe in the back, so beautiful, but I know we will not see them so easily when the season starts. MMMM...sausage!

Poor old rae is incontinent. We took her to the vet, he gave her DES, which totally surprised me. Such an evil drug. Papa was involved in the original legal action against it. There is a very funny description of trial lawyers in one of the Grisham books, no common denominator except they are mostly wild men who fully believe they are working for individuals seeking redress against powerful companies. The old man was passionate about that. The DES does not seem to be helping, I am so sorry to say.

I picked up some sea bass from Hayes last night. We had steamed red jacket potatoes, a terrific salad with Newman dressing (what an awesome man) garlic sourdough crab cakes & fish, baked in Dijon and crumbs. We began with southwestern corn chowder (V8 soups are terrific, especially, big surprise, the tomato soup) and had a bottle of 01 Elu, drinking nicely, and a couple of lesser stars as the evening progressed. We watched a lot of liberal political TV, too.

Eventually, just Julia & I were home. Totally great, but we are such geezers we basically went to bed. We should get to the farmers market together this morning, and I will make sure there are at least a few romantic moments over the weekend. There is nothing more inviting or optimistic than Saturday morning.

Only a wooden snake at the Rattlesnake Bar

Julia & I thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Dallas. Our day with the financial guy was intense, as usual, but we had three very good dinners and some pretty good wine. We also made a few visits to the Rattlesnake Bar in the hotel. The hotel gets a terrific review from us, the Ritz uptown. The mirror in our bathroom had a TV embedded in it. The club concierge got whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted it: coffee, food of all kinds, drinks. We even had extra feather pillows. Took a cab ride to Ft. Worth and saw an excellent collection of impressionists at the Kimbell museum. We rode past the new Cowboys stadium, which is, of course, Texas size.

We upgraded to first class on the way down. Julia objected but it was mild protest. So we enjoyed a pretty good flight down. The first leg of return was upgraded, but not the flight from Charlotte to Big B. That one was delayed by about an hour, but was again, not too bad. We went to vote, had a bite at Tantalus, came home. Julia's candidate, Alice Krysan, beat her opponents like rented mules. So the whole trip and return was just great, as traveling together always seems to be.

This weekend is relaxed. Mike & the girls are out because Lisa is seeing some shows in NYC. Mary is home. Lou & I finally got the brush hog on the little tractor, then it began to rain. So into the kitchen to prepare the things we got at the farmers market this morning, and meatloaf, and a little Veuve.

Julia is going to visit Dawn in NC this weekend, and Mohamed & I go to Dallas. We will be meeting the financial guys for a seminar. This is going to be very different without my love, but I'm sure the reunion will be memorable.

My best to you all. I hope you enjoy the weekend.

On the road again

Julia & I are finishing the last minute packing for our trip to Dallas, which we should be leaving for the airport for about now. The hurricane worried us a little, but was, as usual, somewhat overstated by the weatherman, Mr. C. Little. We have terrific dinner reservations in the big D, which as a Buffalo sports fan, probably stands for Dopey.

Our visit to Toronto was "great success". Jersey Boys was excellent. I must say that I had some serious reservations about that show, because I never really liked the Four Seasons music too much, but I thought the show was great. Even has Joe Pesci. Both Canoe and North44 were outstanding. I love these trips with Julia. She is a terrific traveling companion, among many other sterling qualities.

We took Grandma to Dan's award dinner on Thursday. Brian Higgins presented the award to Dan from the EA Chamber of Commerce. Brian was also the speaker, and he was very good. Dan was predictably out of control, making the hall howl. Jim & Don Bach were rather high profile, also. We met Jim's father in law, Sean, who has a pub south of Galway. I hope to visit him when we take our trip.

I hope you all have a great weekend. We will get together on our return.

Be with the one you love

The work week was pretty full, as is often the case in August. So I was ready for Friday when it rolled around. I was not on call, either, for the weekend. So I met the boys at Gander Mt. for hunting licenses and gun ogling. It is the same feeling a hardware store gives me but a good bit more intense. We kind of got into the sausage making stuff, also. This is going to be a banner year for game food. We all got doe permits for Syracuse, except John, of all of us, but I don't think that will slow us up. Then Mike went home with Lisa, still slightly suffering from Thursday night. Louis, John & I went to Cole's for a bite on the patio. Mary said hello on her way to enjoy the evening with some of her friends, an unexpected pleasure. To my surprise, most of her friends seemed to know Louis.

On Saturday, Mike & Lisa had a wedding to attend, so Nana Julia took care of the babies. I dropped her off and went back to the yard work I had started. I got the lawns almost finished, and got under the driveway pines with the big mower, which goes face first to cut the brush before the rider gets impaled on a branch. The old John Deere ain't what it used to be, but it owes us nothing after years of abusive service. I cleaned up and stopped at Wasabi for dinner for us, and then went to join my love. I found her with Maeve in bed but not sleeping yet, Addie in the swing, sleeping but expected up for a bottle soon. We were happy to be together again after a long day apart, and began to eat the excellent sushi & rolls, a Wasabi lobster and a soft shell crab roll. No sake, though, because of our grandparently responsibilities. Shortly, we were joined by little Maeve, who returned to the sack in a very accommodating manner and soon was asleep. Addie waked up as we were enjoying Toro, almost as good as in Hawaii, which is saying a lot. Addie took a little more attention than her sister did, but it was so good to hold her. When Julia put her in the crib, she nodded right off. Lisa & Mike came home fairly early, and Julia & I left for the country. We had Mass at eight, so went to bed right away.

After Mass, we had a small taste of DP, and enjoyed the most excellent hours of the week. We had been unable to go to farmer's market on Saturday because of some running race that totally gridlocked the village. Some similar activity was underway as we left church to come home, turned out to be a car show, so we had no intention of returning to the village on Sunday, either. The only thing left was to drink champagne. Matt & Theresa were coming for dinner, and Mary, also. Julia made a peach pie, incredible crust, just perfect. We had Kobe flanks seasoned with Butt Rub, corn, tomatoes, beets, and chiabatta Neil got warm from Wegs. The best summer eating. We opened a couple of Barnett Spring Hill cabs after the steamers Neil also brought. And the Bills actually looked pretty good. My kind of Sunday.

Next Sunday could be my kind, also. As well as the rest of the weekend. We are going to Toronto Friday & Saturday nights, at the Sutton, where we stayed on our honeymoon. We have reservations at Canoe, a skyscraper restaurant proudly serving superb Canadian cuisine with a pretty fair wine cellar, tickets for Jersey Boys and no schedule otherwise. And Monday is a holiday. Yippee!

A little Lillet goes a long, long way

Our weekend was excellent. On Friday, after the memorial for Sue Brown, we stopped at the reception at Field of Dreams to say hello to friends we never see anymore. It was a sad event, but good to visit with so many people we are close to. They all loved Sue. We had a bite at Tantalus with Neil later, that was delightful.

Saturday was beautiful weather, and Julia & I spent the day outdoors. Julia did such a good job on the gardens, which needed her touch desperately. We finally got the lawns mowed. We could have baled the grass, but it is so much better. I saw several snakes, the first ones this summer, slithering in the tall grass. They are welcome to come by and eat mice, as long as I don't see them. On Sunday, Neil gave us some trees, specially selected for the poorly drained part of the front. I had planned on thinning the trees in the lawn, to make it easier to mow, but these are really nice and we are grateful to Neil for them, and Dennis, Tyler & James for planting them with the old ford tractor.

We celebrated Julia's birthday Sunday with the entire nuclear fam. We ate on the patio; corn, tomatoes, beets, steak & garlic bread. The children were running and playing, until cake time. Mike made the cake, a Tetris themed delight that we all enjoyed. Deja Vu all over again. Esther has some photos that mostly came from Lisa on her blog, they make me smile every time I look at them.

Julia was horrified to find some mildew on one of the flooded walls in the basement, and we had some trouble with an electric breaker. I spoke with Tim, our treasured construction consultant, on Monday. He was by with the electrician that afternoon, who fixed the breaker and repaired some other wires and stuff. I like electricity even less than I care for snakes. The mildew is apparently less serious than we thought, and can be bleached away. We would be lost without Tim.

Last night we had dinner with Frank & Mary Pat, at Amarylis. Julia was immediately won over by the discovery of Lillet at their bar. It was a great evening and a fine meal. Thanks so much to Frank & Mary Pat for hosting that delectable event. Any visit with them is terrific.

Tonight, we have two political events. There is a casual fundraiser for Brian Higgins, then a gathering for Alice Krysak. It is interesting that I find most of the people at these things pleasant and interesting. I also appreciate having elected officials with brains and hearts. Nonetheless, I look forward to getting home for a last glass with the lovely Julia, mavbe a little Ireland planning. There has been some progress on that topic, which I will share shortly. Until then, I hope you are all enjoying these late summer days and I hope we can spend more of them together.

America's Fair, to partly cloudy

It rained most of the afternoon, and even on the way home. I did not expect to get to the fair tonight, but we did, after all. Mike & Lisa, with Maeve & Addie, came with Frank & Mary Pat, Janet and Pat. John & Esther came; little Julia was so excited to see them as they drove past us to park. Miles just dug everything. Mary drove the kids, and we met Gina, then Ceil & Amy joined us for a fair food dinner. You know, pizza, sausage, fried dough, cotton candy. I don't know how people ride the rides even before the feedbag, but after?

Julia was cheesing to ride the ferris wheel, but she eventually had a great ride on a carousel, along with Maeve. Then we went to the animals. Little Julia held her nose frequently, occasionally with good reason. Maeve loved everything but the turkeys. My head was spinning with ideas (my mind is a raging torrent...) concerning coniglio, veal, cochon de lait. Meat on a stick. Then we got to the sheep. There were a few Corriedales, the breed we used to raise. Julia and I met a woman whose son had some, and it turns out she and her brothers used to show them back when I did. I remember her brothers, the Fitzgeralds, who had a cool shamrock on their logo. We had some times, I'll tell ya.

Maeve touched all the animals she could. She almost poked a pig inappropriately, prompting a Mary Pat remark about a genetic connection to uncle Joe, the colo-rectal surgeon. Fortunately, Petunia was pretty quick and a messy tragedy was averted. Little Julia was somewhat more reserved, and also watched where she stepped.

It was so good to be with the gang who showed up. Definitely my kind of people. Julia & I had a few relaxing moments alone, with a nice little red wine, when we got home. We did not see any meteors, but we did remember the night Mike woke us to see the August meteors and the borealis, just after we moved into the big house. A spectacular celestial event made even better by the fact that no bail money was requested, even though it was about 3 am.

Speaking of 3 am, I shall trundle off to bed to join my love, who is probably sleeping with the TV on. I will turn the TV off, and enjoy the sleep of the just, until the morning when the new day begins. I love you all, and I cannot wait to see you.

There is going to be a memorial for Sue Brown Friday. She was also my kind of people.

Hot fun in the summertime

Friday was date night dinner. Julia & I had a perfect evening, excellent veal chops, some Louisiana red rice, awesome wine in the good glasses. We wait until the next morning to wash those. It is always a treat for me to enjoy dinner together, even in a restaurant, but there is nothing like a romantic night at home with Julia. The next morning was relaxed, anticipating John & Esther bringing the children and the haul from the farmers market. They had been to Lombardo's the night before, always delightful.

Little Julia & I made pasta together on Saturday, to help celebrate her mom's birthday. She did a terrific job turning the crank, which can be quite a lot of work. We hung the spaghetti on a drying rack, kept way safe from Rae, who likes drying noodles very much. John put the tent up in the yard, only to see the sunshine lose to the rain immediately. With the lightning, camping plans were abandoned until later. We had a great birthday dinner, learning again that homemade pasta expands after it is eaten.

This upcoming week looks pretty cool. Among other things, we will go to the fair. Many great memories of the days of 4-H with my brothers, staying at the fair for days with our lambs. The fair has not changed too much, but one visit is enough these days. Going with grandchildren is a new wrinkle that Julia & I like very much. I hope you all can come along. Check with Julia for reliable information concerning the big night.

A restful weekend, can't wait till next year

The trip to see the Yankees was exceptional. Everybody had a great time. The drive down, which began early, was totally rainy. Each of the cars had somewhat homogeneous riders. I was with Leonard & Neil, and it was great. Louis ranged ahead, then got delayed at the bridge. Some of us went through Lincoln tunnel, and we met the others at the hotel, which had one room of our block available for early check in. So all the backpaks, coolers, etc. went there and we took the subway to the Stadium, in the rain. The Stadium is the principal reason for the New York selection, this being the last of it's 85 seasons and I had dreaded that we would be rained out. However, the sun was out and the games were played, Old Timers first then the Bombers vs the Halos. We won, for the first time in the series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Our seat were quite high up, but covered and in the shade. You could see the field well, except for extreme Right field. We took the subway back, had a few blocks walk, the went to Sarge's for deli food in abundant quantities. I understand that some of the big eaters were satisfied but could have eaten more. Not me. In fact, I did not have the wherewithall to do more than have a nightcap with the other geezers and go to bed. Sad, but true. The next morning, we all arose and packed our stuff into the cars for the ride home. Phillipe and his family, our French cousins, came by to say bon jour & au revior, as they were flying back home themselves. I came home to pickled pot roast, brown rice & salad, prepared by the lovely Julia, who had taken time from the red tent weekend at our house to cook for me. My cup runneth over, but I will try to drink faster.

Yesterday, Julia made a Bluefoot chicken with Tony Cachere seasoning, and some celery and onion. She had to remove the head & feet before she roasted this beautiful chicken, a women of the colony move if ever there was one. It was spectacular. Julia was not having wine, because she had an early, busy day. I took care of things, however, so no wine was wasted.

In fact, as is often the case in Summer, I did have an early, busy day. After a jammed up morning in EA, I went to the General to help Mohamed with an osteotomy. He did great, as I knew he would. I was there until later than I planned, so Julia & I had a later bite at Tantalus. Instead of the Strykersville rodeo & tractor pull with my friend Dave. It is also raining hard.

We opened a wine called Ball Buster, an Aussie screw cap meritage, mostly syrah. Nice, actually; big, fruited, somewhat complex and long in aftertaste. Easy to drink. Just the thing for a red tent gathering.

Enjoy yourselves, stay dry and stay in touch.

Easy livin' in the summertime

The routine appears to be underway again. Although I was home & working last week, Julia returned on Sunday, was home on Monday, more or less, and began caring for Miles on Tuesday. She had baby Julia along with Miles yesterday, although Mary was with them, also. Anyway, the white, sugary sand and the beach are just lovely memories now. Cecilia has been in the office a lot, and that makes the day OK for me.

Julia & I had dinner at Rick's last night. Nice. A little Veuve, a little Rutherford cab. Tonight, it will be hot dogs at the Hatch, at the waterfront. Looking forward to seeing Mike, who has been subterranean for months, it seems. Most of the other nuclear fam will be there, as well as others close to us. Buffalo in the summer is the best place on earth, and I like it in other seasons, also.

The office staff gave me a gift certificate to Napoli's, a fine mens store. I went to buy some socks, but their stuff is so nice, I picked out a few shirts... Slightly exceeding to amount I planned to spend, as I occasionally do. The shirts are super comfortable.

I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the summer. My next post will probably come after our boy's nite trip to Yankee Stadium, from which there will be no pictures to post.

Friday night lights

Ah, Friday evening, the most relaxed and happy time. The office was fairly busy and I was grateful for it, but when we were done, I was grateful for that, too. I had enough time to go home and change, then I was to meet Ceil, Amy & Mary for a bite at Amaryllis. I was looking forward to this, having heard plenty but not having been there. I stopped to get some dry cleaning and didn't I get a call from Sisters. I changed into some of the stuff I picked up, and hit the hospital before dinner, and made it just about on time. The patient is almost 80, and was admitted for altered mental status but had apparently sustained facial trauma. He was a delightful, tiny little man who had no idea how his cheekbone got broken. He was quite gracious, but had no history to give, and didn't want anything I could offer him. He hadn't fallen, he told me, because he always wears his glasses, and they had not been broken. Fortunately, he had no functional deficits, and cosmetics issues have no role here. When I told him I did not think he needed my services, I made a new friend. I listened to him for about 30 minutes, and then left for dinner.

The girls were at the bar. We had a drink and then went to the table. Very pleasant, the food was quite good. Limited but OK wine list, reasonable glassware. The waitstaff was very good. We had a great time. The singer had been a patient quite a while ago, and I would perhaps not have recognized her except I got a heads up from Christine. It was very nice that she remembered me, even after all these years (and sedation meds).

Julia, my love, comes home in two days. I brought a bluefoot chicken up from the freezer ( with head & feet ). It will thaw slowly then become a delicious, romantic meal. We will see what the farmers have at the market in the morning, some lima beans, I hope. But whatever is really nice, and there is always something, we will have a fine dinner Sunday. Perhaps with a little wine.

Tomorrow, I will go to Little Deb's and Rob's wedding party in the country. Amy, Ceil & Mary will come along, as well as most of the office people. It will be fun , and we are all happy for the new couple, especially the blushing bride.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Stop by if you can, although you may get the impression that I am preoccupied if Julia is home.

Gimme forty acres to turn this plane around

It was a perfect respite, wonderfully relaxing and fun. Our flight into Atlanta was delayed such that we would have microseconds to catch the connection to Pensacola. We had to depart from a different terminal than we arrived at, and we were the last ones on, but we made it, along with our luggage. Again, God is good. Our drive from the airport to the beach was under a full moon on the Gulf, and the road from the rockin' Gulf Shores beaches to Fort Morgan was through undeveloped beach and sandy woods. It smelled so good, sounded soothing and was hot, hot. It was totally reminiscent of Gulf Shores back in the day.

Julia & Miles were perfect. We had such a good time with them. I'll bet we used ten gallons of sunscreen. They loved the pool, digging on the beach. Julia had mild trepidation about the surf, which got stronger as the storm Dolly made her way to Texas, probably to mess with it. The last day I was there, Nana Julia & I were in thigh deep water looking for nettable little fish or crabs to catch for the children's amusement, Julia's back was to the beach, and I was looking toward it.
She softly said "There is a big one.", which I thought was in reference to a fish until the wave knocked both of us right off our feet.

Food was just fine, generally fried seafood, at Lulu's, for instance. We had Royal Reds boiled in Zatarains, heads on and peeled on the balcony while drinking a little red wine on Saturday, my birthday. Who could ask for more? They put 59 candles on my cake, but we had no lighters or matches so we had to pretend. We did have fire for Esther Baugh's cake the next day, and the fire alarm really went off! Ha! Ha!

Julia took me to Pensacola on Monday, and I flew home uneventfully. I met John at the airport last evening, to pick up Esther, Mary & the children. Little Julia wanted to continue the vacation, very smart kid. I had dinner with Ceil & Amy earlier at Wasabi, very good.

Nana Julia will be home in a few days, she is visiting with Esther Baugh. Her high school reunion is Saturday, then she will come home. I will make it worth her while. I know she is having a great time in Alabama, but I miss her and can't wait to have her back.

Stars will fall on Alabama

We had cake & ice cream last night with the lovely Maeve, resplendent in a dress from Italy worn under a purple tutu. Mary Pat & Frank had great stories about their trip to Italy, making Julia & me long to take another trip there. Maybe with them, they know where to get good gelato, after all. Mike seems to be getting through the bar prep pretty well, probably because Lisa takes such good care of him.

We leave for Alabama this afternoon. I will try to behave lest we get kicked off the plane, an apparently common problem these days. I am finally beginning to understand the Reagan Bizarro World: the Republicans run the country, the airlines are going broke, so the solution is to degrade their customer service. All of this airline business began with Reagan deregulation, it used to actually be pleasant to fly.

Well, the beach is going to be terrific. I hope I can learn to post photos by the time I get back, because there will be plenty to share: Gulf shrimp, crab claws & drinks with umbrellas. I understand Miles is wild about the water, from his Connecticut visit, and I hope that we can take little Julia crabbing. Maybe she can show some nice lady strolling by "the bastard that bit my papa" as her mother did back in the day.

Hope you all have a fine weekend, I'll have some stories next time.

If every day was Sunday...

Sunday was what you might call my ideal day. Julia eucharistic ministered early Mass, and I had to flash to the Williamsville office, then Weg's, then home to let the wild rumpus begin. We surely missed Mike, but all the rest of the fam were together for Julia's incredible crawfish etouffe. The little ones were out and having fun. Plenty of just hanging out for the rest of us. Gina joined us, always a pleasure. Smokey stopped by for a quick visit, then Leonard appeared, both completely unexpected. A very happy birthday celebration for Lou.

Mimi went home today. I am sorry to see her leave, this has been an enjoyable visit. Our first meeting was at their house in Gulf Hills, almost forty years ago. She was sweet & gracious then, too. I miss her already. I know Julia does, also.

I was on call for one of the hospitals over the weekend. They called about a young man who sustained a pretty significant lower jaw fracture, in a fight, of course. The plan was for him to follow up with me in the office and have his broken jaw evaluated, anticipating the need to do this in the hospital He called about mid-morning, came to his appointment and then told us were are too far from the city. Cecilia asked if he would like to be seen, since he was already here, but we were still too far. He announced that he would return to the hospital and ask for an office closer to town. Ceil said he would probably just be sent back here, come on in and let the doc look. No, he will try a different hospital. Oh well, maybe the next time. I am pretty sure he will do this again, sometime.

I think we may go visit Louis at the Arriba, tonight. The Mexican food is tasty, but the margaritas are the best.

Archeologists of the future will find my tools

Last evening, we had a terrific fish dinner, with Mimi, GG, Mary, Neil, Julia and moi. I stopped at the Clarence Hayes, which was packed, reminded me of Yogi Berra: "no wonder no one comes here, it is so crowded". They had wild Alaska sockeye, and so did we. Along with some endangered Sea Bass & cocktail shrimp, it was quite tasty. Julia & I had planned to have a little champagne together upstairs, later in the evening, but we drank it all straightening the kitchen then fell asleep when we did go to bed. We are so romantic sometimes. The champagne was Krug Rose, which is why we were our usual moderate selves.

The farmers market was bustling this morning. We picked up some swell veggies for Sunday, Louis' birthday. A quick stop for coffee at the Starbucks, where we saw several people we enjoyed seeing, and one we kept the sunglasses on. We had some fresh shelled peas with little grilled chickens this evening, with a nice young cabernet. So good. Tomorrow is to be crawfish etoufee with peas, beets, and a farmers lettuce salad. Maybe a cold beer, too.

The womenfolk went to do some serious shopping. I did some equally serious maintainance of the colony. It seems like I spent more time trying to make stuff work than actually mowing, for instance. Louis was able to get the new weed whacker started, but I think the walk behind mower is dead & gone. This is a long standing curse of the Ponderosa, along with disappearing tools. However,I did not burn anything down, lose any fingers or kill any pets or neighbors. I did get to drive the truck to the hardware store, though,pretty Tim Taylor-like.

Tomorrow will be another great day. The little ones will be here, we'll celebrate Louis' birthday, and wish Mimi bon voyage. She is going home on Monday. Easier for us than usual, because some of us will see her in Gulf Shores next week.

I hope you are all enjoying the weekend. Even more I hope we see each other tomorrow.

A beautiful Buffalo summer night

On this beautiful Buffalo evening, we went to see the Bisons play Louisville, the Bats. Mary, Mimi, Julia & I parked across the street from the Washinton St. entrance, very convenient, and heard a truly enthusiatic rendition of the Anthem on our way to the BBQ stand. They have great BBQ sausage. Stopped by the good beer stand for a Murphy's and setled in for the game. Naturally we met some friends on the way in. There was a pretty good crowd, and all the crazy minor league promotions were in full swing, such as baseball bingo, in which bingo numbers are assigned to the hitting performance of various positions. We had a couple of cards which only needed one more number for bingo, but the tonsil recovering Mary had enough by the seventh inning stretch. We gave our cards to the people in the row ahead, they were really into it. They won the free Russer sandwiches, so their prize appetite had been whetted. So we had a great night, and got home in a flash.

There were several menacing seagulls flying pretty low, looking for peanuts, I guess. Mary tried to ignore them but they were very in your face birds.

Miles stood free in the den today. He is going to walk soon. Little Julia did a great dance to the Thank You For Letting me Be Mice Elf song at the end of Schrek, but then they had to go home. I plan to do some more standing & dancing soon.

The exterminators are coming tomorrow. Death to insects & other pests. (No birds, as far as I know.) The ladies , Julia & Mary will have to have a lengthy breakfast at Charlies, and then the AC guys are finally supposed to come by. I'll believe that when I see it. The carpet cleaners are coming, too, in case anyone wants to crawl on the floor. Those guys are reliable, so I'm sure the floors will be fine.

I see that Karl Rove ignored a congressional subpoena to testify about politicizing Justice Department activities. He is the third White House guy to do that. I hope he goes to jail. In San Francisco, some group is petitioning to name the sewage treatment plant in honor of "W". If they do, I'll be sure to use a toilet there.

Happy Birthday to Louis this weekend. The weekend is shaping up well. Hot weather & crawfish etoufee, maybe some cold beer. You know how good that is when Julia makes it. Come out if you can, I would love to visit.

Happy Trails to You

A really nice lol (little old lady) came in this afternoon. She had been in Utah visiting her daughter, took a spill in the dark, and sustained an injury. She was treated in Utah, and is just now home, needing follow up care. I mentioned that the only time I have been to Utah was a brief layover on the way to Anchorage, and she really lit up. She loves Alaska, and has been there many times because one of her children was stationed at Elmendorf, the big air base where I landed on the way to Viet Nam, with a record setting hangover. She & her husband drove there in an RV one time.

I mentioned this to Julia, which led to the "Where Would You Go With an RV, a Month and Some Money?" conversation. We began modestly, like to Maine for lobster, but eventually we visited Glacier National Park in Great Falls, Montana; Alaska, of course, and South America. We remembered that the highway from Guatemala City to the Mayan ruins at Tikal is a brand new road but cannot be traveled because of the banditos, and recalled the roadside caves we saw along some of the roads we did travel, in daylight, where rebels used to hide but now the banditos frequent. So maybe there are some RV constraints in addition to the ocean. We talked about the fam trip to DC and then on to Alabama, a really great memory.

So where would you go, who would you travel with? What would you take, in addition to cases of champagne? I would go with Julia, and I would not take a cell phone.

keep on the sunny side

It was another pretty busy day at the office, but I met some interesting people. An older lady came in for a consult, and I did not feel like I had her confidence. She had a cane that she kept pretty handy, just in case. Eventually, she made a remark about Ole Miss, which I thought might be a prelude to a cane whack. It turns out, however, that she was from Alabama and education at Mississippi was a very favorable attribute. By the time our conversation got to Gulf Shores, we were fast friends.

Miles spent the day in EA, and I got home in time to drive Nana and the young man home. We pulled up to their home just as Esther & Julia drove in. Julia was so excited to see Miles. Very cool. By the time John got home they were both quivering.

Not very cool at home, however, as the AC in the kitchen is still not working. We grilled some dogs and I had a beer, a good way to capitalize on the situation.

The Bisons are home for a few games this week. I hope we can see a game or two, even though they are playing rather substandard baseball these recent days. Oh well, as a Buffalo sports fan, I know how to capitalize on certain situations. We are thinking Thursday or Friday. There are plenty o' tix for anyone interested.

Nana Julia is tending to Rae's infected ear, outside, thankfully. Poor old Rae is way past her puppy days but she still obeys commands as well as ever.

Maureen's daughter had a little girl, by section, and all is well with them.

I hope it is all good with you all. Can't wait to see you.

The work day after an excellent holiday weekend always seems long, even though it is only a third of the length of the holiday. It was an active holiday, and a really good time. Good food & drink, of course. The fam was not together all at one time, but I got to visit with everyone at one point or another. The little ones, as always, were just great. A superb summery time together.

I was a little late getting out of the office tonight, and the kitchen air conditioner is broken. The great grandmothers prefer to sit in sweltering heat with their sweaters on, so Julia fed them nice plates of cold leftovers. Mary is still not eating much, so she took some pain med and Julia & I went into town for a quick bite. The den A/C is working, so Mary had a cool room to hang out in. (OK, in which to hang out, if you prefer)

We went to Tantalus, read the entire ludicrous large menu then ordered what we alway get. Nice bottle of red, too. Saw some friends, said hello to several others. The usual,delightful evening.

Got a busy day tomorrow. Hope you all have a good day, also.