Saturday, November 16, 2019

Baby it's Cold Outside...Our November Getaway and Rehab Brunch...Gadget and Sofi

"Mom...are you in there??"
                                        ~Gadget

We pulled a stunt on Gadget this week when John put me on speaker-phone and let her listen.

"How the hell did you get her inside that thing???"
                                                                            ~Gadget

"Nice kid...but not real bright."

                                              ~Sofi


Actually, she is smarter than smart.

Remember how Gadget learned to fetch her mouse-toy. John would toss it downstairs and she would bring it back...then he would give her a treat?

Yeah...well she figured out how to cut out the middle man...

Sometimes she will get her mouse...run downstairs with it in her mouth...then back upstairs...bringing it and waiting by her treat dish for

you guessed it

A TREAT!

Now that's clever.

Fetching the mouse...no throwing required.

It got bitterly cold early this week...preempting the monthly trip with Diane and   Brenda (this time to Greenwood)

Since Diane's Birthday is the 19th...we rescheduled, and are going to just have her a Birthday Luncheon here next week!

Wednesday, John and I left for our November Getaway...and Rehab Brunch. 

When we left, it was still frigid (8 or 9 degrees)...but it slowly warmed up.

We plundered Edward's Drive-in on the Southside.


"Yeah....that's what I'm TALKING about!"







Which used to be "back in the day" a Dog 'N" Suds...and I went here (sans the indoor part) from maybe 5 or 6 until I was well into my 20's.

A fact I shared with the 20 something who waited on us...

Then came to the realization later it would have been over 50 years ago...ergo...she wouldn't even have been a glint in her father's eye back then...lol.

Damn, I've gotten old!

~laughing~

Not complaining...most days I still feel about 45...except for the occasional days when I wake up feeling 105...

Spent the night in luxury with

...pillows...pillows...pillows...



Soft like marshmallows...got to get me a couple of these!

The candle, a new find...Butterscotch Shortbread...as decadent as it sounds!

And US!

(....and is it just me...or does Love in the Age of Arthritis just seem to be getting better and better...who knew???)

Back together for well over 2 years now...and the last year and a half exclusively.

Getting more familiar with each other and our likes, dislikes, idiosyncrasies.

For instance, years of sleeping alone have made me the ultimate cover-hog. One good turn and I can get all the bed-clothing and be sleeping cocooned like a bag-worm...unaware.

He...on the other hand...even though he is tall and rather thinnish can sprawl and take up an entire KING-SIZED bed...the whole freaking bed...except the 12 inches that I am clinging to desperately trying to not go over "the cliff".

And we've learned to adapt pretty well.

"Give up the sheets!"

"Not until you move the hell over."

"I have chocolate."

"Well..............okay....."

(...damn...foiled by dark chocolate again...)

No Will-Power.

The Rehab Brunch was at

Loco's Mexican Restaurant and Cantina

Sounds like our bunch.

Authentic Mexican from the bright yellow outside of the building

(...if you have ever been to Tijuana you know what I am talking about...)

to the pages and pages of amazing  Mexican Cuisine.

Including Churros with Dipping Chocolate for Afters.

Which John had never tried before and enjoyed.

And THIS

Jarritos!

Haven't had one in almost 30 years!

John had never tried one.

Mexican Soda in a variety of flavors. We had the more subtle Lime...I have always loved the Tamarind.

Pronounced Har-itos, it has many flavors...isn't as carbonated as Coke or Sprite, has real cane sugar instead of corn syrup...and is utterly addictive.

Try one for yourself.

A great turnout (18+) and met a few of John's Tribe I hadn't yet...Bob and his son (a foodie like myself) Ernie and Susie, Kathy didn't make it...but got to see Charlcie and Jan again.  Wonderful...funny...REAL folks!

Charlcie in her Southern Drawl calls me "Doodlebug"

I refer to her, Jan and Kathy as

"The Usual Suspects"

Until at last warm, happy, laughing and stuffed with tamales, enchiladas, refried beans, queso and rice we left until next month...when we will reconvene at Bynum's Steak House, and also celebrate John's birthday early!

Our trek wasn't over though...and he introduced me to someplace I had never seen before

Never even heard of it.

Ollie's buys in bulk.

Good stuff.

Brand name stuff.

And the prices and quality are amazing!

We did some early Christmas browsing, and are definitely making a return trip before the holiday!

Came home to Sofi...who was very chatty and oh-you-brought-me-chicken!

And later Gadget...who curled up on his duffle.

"I'm so glad you came home, Dad!"

I had a wonderful time, guy...can't wait for you to join My Tribe for Our Thanksgiving soon!

The Book this Week

A novel whose idea was gleaned from a genuine article in The Register Chronicles 1797

 In a single short paragraph, it described what appeared to be some kind of scientific experiment, conducted by a Mr Powyss of Moreham in Lancashire. Some years earlier Mr Powyss had published an advertisement offering a reward of £50 a year for life to any man willing to live for seven years underground without seeing another human face. While the successful applicant would be required to “let his toe and fingernails grow during the whole of his confinement, together with his beard”, his conditions would be comfortable, even luxurious: his “commodious apartments” would include meals served from Mr Powyss’s own table, a bathtub with cold running water, a chamber-organ, and “as many books as the occupier should desire”. According to the Register, a labouring man with a large family had accepted the post. He was, by 1797, in the “fourth year of his probation”.
 

There were no other details.

From this tiny random bit of historical fact...Nathan constructed her characters and spun the tale.

Engaging, quick paced, intriguing...well worth the time.

One of the better books I have enjoyed this year.

The Movie

Some of Edward Norton's BEST WORK.

Several boys who grew up in an orphanage in New York. The movie is set in 1957. Norton's character is afflicted with Tourette's Syndrome and his performance is up there with Hoffman's in Rainman or Penn's in I am Sam.

I think what I loved best about this film was the cinematography. Everything was done in the muted reds, yellows and blues of the Pre-Kodak Era...just obvious enough to give you the feeling of old photographs hand touched with color.

Willis plays the older Gumshoe (detective) that takes Norton under his wing...while the rest of the office refers to him as Freakshow because of his verbal outbursts.

I love Norton...all of his films...his monologues reminiscent of Fight Club...

If you like his work...this is a must see.

This one might just be his Oscar Performance.

So...a Cinderella Day here.

Launder, scrub, polish, dust...and looking forward to a relaxing 
Zen Sunday.