A 70º Morning In Dallas

What A Good Girl.., Kaia, The Newest Addition To The Family

Kaia And Mitchell

Kaia And Marisa

Well, it's 7:20 as I start this blog and it's raining outside although it should clear up later in the day.  Rami, my son in law, and I have been sitting drinking coffee from the new coffee machine that does everything except grow the coffee.  And it needs a technician to make it.  He made me a flat white, basically, an espresso with regular coffee added.  It was delicious.

Heading To Dallas

Our drive yesterday from Lee's Summit to University Park, a suburb of Dallas was long and miserable.  It was overcast and foggy most of the way and twice in Oklahoma we drove through torrential rainstorms, our only consolation was that it wasn't snow.  So there was not much to see as we drove, just fields of hay, littered with hay bundles and an occasional small town of empty buildings, abandoned gas stations, and an occasional Walmart in between.  Maybe it was just the weather but it was a depressing drive.  And when we neared Dallas by twenty-five miles, the buildings, even high rises began so that the Dallas area never seems to end.  And worst of all, it rained on and off the entire way through Plano and other suburbs to Beth's house in University Park. We made it, so I won't complain.

Chefs For The Day

Evie And Beth

We were excited to see all the Albarran's, especially Mitchell who was unable to make it to the lake this summer because of an internship in San Francisco at the architectural firm Arup.  And like my other grandson, Nick, he was hired by them and will start after he graduates in June from the University of Texas.  Tyler was in from Boston as well so it was fun to see the family and their new dog, Kaia, a rescue mix of Siberian Husky and perhaps collie or sheepdog.

Hanging Out With Granny

Beth had made an appetizer of raw tuna blended with a marinade of ginger, garlic, wasabi, soy sauce, mirin.  It's served with potato chips and was great.  We sat around petting the dog, catching on the lives of the boys, Marisa and Beth and Rami, all busy and happy. 

Dinner

For dinner, Rami was cooking a prime rib in a Sous Vide, a water bath which cooks the roast up to a certain temperature and then holds it until it's browned on the grill before serving.  It was excellent and went well with scalloped potatoes, salad, asparagus, and Beth's popovers. Yum, what a great dinner, the fourth in the row with our kids.

Granny And Granddaughter (on tiptoes)

A Smiling Tyler

Mitch And Mom

We relaxed in front of the TV, watched an episode of Maladorian from Disney Plus TV and enjoyed some dessert, homemade apple pie, and ice cream.  To say Evie and I were tired would be an understatement but we managed to stay up until 9:15 when we went to bed, joined soon by Beth and Rami but the boys and Marisa stayed up, of course, watching TV.  It was a great end to the day to be in Dallas with the family.

Road Tripping To Dallas

Thanksgiving, 2010

Thanksgiving, 2019

We are up early at 6:00, as usual when we are driving a good distance and today, we have eight hours to get to Dallas, to our daughter Beth's family.  It looks like rain most of the way but no snow so we are grateful for that.

Yesterday was a classic Thanksgiving day, the way it should be. I was up early, waiting for the rest to arise and by 9:00, the prepping began as the four of us, Tommy, Mary, Evie and me, took over the kitchen and got to work.  By 10:30, the turkey was ready, sitting on a bed of onions, the basting butter with maple syrup and siracha ready.  I peeled the potatoes, Mary got the yeast rolls ready, Tom and Evie did the rest, the roasted green beans with mushrooms and onions, and the sausage for the stuffing.  For gravy, Evie roasted some turkey wings at the lake and brought the broth with her.

Making Crepes

Davis Creperie

Exhausted From Begging

By 11:00, Nick and Marlena were up and it was time for crepes.  Marlena got busy making the batter and made them in her new crepe pan, compliments of Evie Joy.  Everyone loved them, either with lemon and sugar or whipped cream.  By 11:30, everyone was well fed and it was time for football, the first game of three for a surfeit of football.  Since we were eating around 4:30, the turkey went in the oven at noon and most of the prepping was done until 4:00.  So we spent the rest of the afternoon watching football, talking, playing Bananagrams and thinking about the dinner to come.

The Davis Family

Hey

Bella And Mary Cyrus

We expected the turkey to take 3/4 hours but it was ready by 2:30, earlier than expected.  So we ate a little earlier, at 3:45 which means we will be hungry tonight for turkey sandwiches.  Around 3:30, it was photo time, so like every holiday, we took too many photos of the family in all sorts of configuration.  Fortunately, we have a photogenic family!  After the shoot, the vegetables went in the oven around 3:15 and we brought out a bottle of wine to enjoy as we waited for everything to be done.

Turkey Carving Masters

Everybody Helps

Tom carved the turkey at 3:30, with me supervising, as the gals got the sides ready and Frank, Mary's Dad, cleaned up the kitchen as we made a mess, a true group effort.

The Requisite Family Selfie

Our dinner was one of the best we have had, the turkey moist and juicy, the sides perfect, especially the onions Evie scraped off the bottom of the roasting pan.  My favorites, as always, was stuffing and mashed potatoes with homemade gravy, the best.  After dinner, the guys waddled over to the couches to watch more football, while the girls did up the dishes with no complaints. Once our food had settled we had cheesecake for dessert, a nice change from pumpkin pie  Early evening Evie and I went downstairs, packed up our stuff and put it in the car so we would have an easy go of it early tomorrow morning when we drive to Dallas. And six of us played a card game called Telefunky when we had enough football.  Around 9:30, Nick and his friends, Peyton and Chris, took off for a neighborhood party and the rest of us watched some TV until we got tired and went to bed.  I finally finished, Olive, Again and liked it despite the deep sadness of the end of her life.

Three Turkeys

A Day Of Thankfulness For Family And Friends

Crazies On The Loose

Thanksgiving Morning at 7:30

It's Thanksgiving morning and nothing seems to have changed.  Everyone is still sleeping and I have been up since 6:00, reading the Times and Post on my computer and now, beginning my blog.  Sometimes I wish I could sleep in yet a quiet morning to myself is also enjoyable.

Yesterday turned out to be a nice day, lots of sunshine with gusty winds, so that when outside, we all needed windbreakers.  Evie and I did not do much in the morning but sit around and wait for the gang to get back from working out in the gym.  Both Tom and Mary are good about keeping up a workout routine which is admirable.  I don't know why but I don't have much interest in getting out for a walk, happy, I guess, to sit around and read or browse on my computer.

Aloha

We did have plans for the afternoon, however, so once everyone was back from their workouts, we had lunch, meatball subs, then drove off to City Market in downtown Kansas City.  We tend to go there every Thanksgiving, browsing the vegetable stands, small ethnic restaurants, and shops, ending up at the old, local hardware store.  It's a modest West Side Market if you are familiar with Cleveland but fun to visit.  We had to stop at one of the restaurants for beignets, drenched in powdered sugar and light and delicious.

Sunny At The City Market

Nick At Spiceland

Found The Maple Syrup

After our shopping at the Chinese Market, where we found chili paste for our Thanksgiving turkey (with maple syrup), we drove 15 minutes to Kansas City's famous Country Club Plaza, a Spanish inspired shopping area, with lots of restaurants and stores, our favorite place to visit in Kansas City.  We were remarkably restrained, only buying a couple of books, despite browsing many great stores.

V-I-C-T-O-R-Y

We were home just after 4:00 so Tom and Nick could watch the Kansas/Dayton basketball game, a thriller that went into overtime.  Around 6:00, we opened a bottle of sauvignon blanc and Evie, Tom and Mary started cooking, after a rousing game of Bananagrams in which Marlena finally defeated her Granny.

Dinner's Ready

Evie put together a shrimp, garlic, and white wine dish.  Tom made brussels sprouts with bacon and balsamic vinegar, and Mary baked the salmon with mayo and spices.  Needless to say, it was a great dinner, and the shrimp was served on a bed of quinoa and brown rice.

Relaxing Before Dinner

After dinner, we sat around until 10:00, the girls playing Bananagrams, Tom and I watched some basketball and Nick went off to downtown Lee's Summit, to hang out with buddies from high school, back like him from college.  It was a busy and fun day.

Enjoying Barbecue At Kansas City Joe's

What A Cutie

Blue Skies On A Missouri Morning

The Gang's All Here

It's 7:15 and I have been up since 6:00.  All's quiet on the Middle American front.  It's just me and Bella as I let her out for her morning constitutional at 6:00 and then she disappeared.  It's a windy day with a leaden sky, the tree limbs bending, the wind chimes ringing.  It looks like it will be like this the rest of the day with temperatures reaching the low 40's.  As I finish writing this, I am still the only one up at 7:30, enjoying a couple of cups of Stormin Normin coffee from The Roasterie, Tommy's favorite local coffee.  It is good.

Costco Happy

Yesterday morning was leisurely for Evie and me, just taking it easy after a couple of long drives.  Marlena, however, was off to school by 6:45.  Tom left around 9:00 to workout, Mary to hot yoga which left Nick with us.  By 10:30, we had decided to do some shopping, at Evie's favorite box store, Costco, so the four of us took off.  Costco is always an expensive experience and yesterday was no exception as we found lots of 'must need' sorts of things.  We left with a few groceries for Thanksgiving and a happy wife.  We then hit Sprouts, Tom's favorite grocery and finalized our Thanksgiving dinner needs.  And because Tom was having neck pain, we stopped and he bought some CBD cream, to see if that would help alleviate the discomfort.

We did get home until 1:00 and Mary had some Nathan's hot dogs ready for lunch as all of us were hungry.  The rest of the afternoon was uneventful.  I took a nap and did some reading.  Evie and Mary drove to the hairdressers where Marlena went after school to get her hair done.  She was there for a couple of hours and came home looking like a model.  She's tres gorgeous, of course, like all of our granddaughters.

Marlena And Her Granny

We had some wine around 5:00 then got ready to drive to Kansas for the best barbecue in the United States, Oklahoma Joe's, a chain that started in a Kansas City gas station ten years ago.  It's now called Joe's Kansas City, a twenty-minute drive on a foggy night.

Waiting For Barbecue

Our timing could not have been better or worse because there was a line outside the door when we got there and when we left because it's so popular.  We stood in line for close to a half-hour, having ordered a beer just as we entered.

Marlena And Baba

Hanging At Joe's

We then ordered brisket or pulled pork sandwiches, fries, coleslaw and a slab of ribs, found a table and  Tom and Nick carried our dinners over to the table.  The sandwiches were good but the ribs were the best I have ever had and the fries were a close second.  No wonder it seems to have a neverending line of customers.

White Heads

We did not get home till 8:00 and sat around playing on our devices until 9:30 when the Kansas/Brigham Young basketball game came on. The girls amused themselves making silly photos on their phones, an emoji for me I guess and Evie discovered another photo editor program on Photos and worked with that with Marlena for a half hour.  At half time, Evie and I bid the gang aloha and went downstairs, tired from our day of shopping and eating barbecue, a rough day.

Early Morning In Missouri

The Three Graces

7:00

It's 7:00 and already we have had lots of action.  I was up at 6:00, made coffee in the new coffee maker but it was like water.  So Mary was up, got Tom up and they tried to fix it.  It was better but still not right; I think its the coffee, not ground fine enough.  Marlena was up as well at 6:00 and just drove off to school as classes start at 7:30, uncivilized I think.

Which Way Tours

From The Car Window

Yesterday was another easy drive and we feel fortunate to have had good weather and decent traffic.  We figured six hours to Lee's Summit and that's what it took.  We had only two stops along the way, once for breakfast and then at Kleinschmitd's, a country-western store we always stop at because it's so cool. It has an amazing array of boots, shirts, jeans, coats, vests, anything country-western and it's just fun to browse for 15 minutes and I usually end up buying a shirt.  Yesterday was no exception.

Nick And Peyton

We arrived at Tom's around 2:30 and were greeted by the entire family, Nick home from the University of Arkansas and Marlena from school.  We had not seen Nick since last March, the rest since August.  When we walked in, Tom was frying up meatballs and Mary was stirring in classic Sicilian pasta sauce, at our request.  We wanted Mary's pasta and meatballs for dinner.  It was fun to see Nick who was excited because he had just accepted a job with Commerce Bank in KC.  He graduates in three weeks, a semester early and starts working at the beginning of March.  Marlena is a junior, interested in nursing and doing well, and keeping busy playing for her school's tennis team this fall.  We only get to see them two or three times a year unfortunately and they grow up too quickly, the lament of all grandparents. 

Mary And Bella

A Dog's Life

Around 5:00, we settled down in the living room with a glass of wine and Nick's buddy came over. They have been good friends from 1st grade and both will be gainfully employed when Nick starts in March.  Peyton graduated in three years and has been working KC as an actuary and had just passed his first big test on the way to being fully certified.  He was excited.

Pasta And Meatballs With Family

We had a great dinner, just what we ordered, all the meatballs you could eat, lots of pasta sauce and pasta, along with garlic bread.  We ended up talking about the boy's work, how they were similar and different but both dealt with finance.  We also talked about books we loved and Nick wants me to recommend a book for him.  Peyton left around 7:30, with a doggy bag filled with pasta and meatballs since he's living in an apartment in downtown KC and accepts anyone's home cooking.

Nick left with friends around 8:00 to hit downtown Lee's Summit, so the rest of us sat around talking and watching some football and basketball while Marlena studied for her two tests today, one in Anatomy, the other in Spanish.  Both Evie and I were really tired from our drive so we went to bed just after 9:00 and neither of us had any trouble falling asleep.

Almost There

Sunrise In Effingham

Not quite, I suppose, as we have six more hours to our son Tom's home in Lee's Summit, a suburb southeast of Kansas City.  At the moment, it's 6:40 and I am enjoying coffee and granola with yogurt in the Effingham Hampton Inn, wondering why a guy would wear a Trump 2020 hat this early in the morning. At least breakfast should be free of politics.

The Beauty Of The Flatlands

Yesterday we were fortunate to have an easy nine-hour drive.  We left the lake on time, at 7:00 and had decent weather and traffic through Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.  The vistas across corn and wheatfields of all three states always amaze me, as well as their flatness.  We stopped once for breakfast, in Ashland, Ohio, then one other time for gas.  We traded driving making it easy and we were surprised to walk into our Hampton Inn at 3:00, Central time, nine hours after we left, just as the GPS predicted.

Our Dinner Destination

We relaxed in our room, watching some football, happy to know that the Browns had beaten the Dolphins in Miami as expected.  I showered, something that always makes me feel better and we drove over to our favorite restaurant in Effingham, the Firefly Grill, just up the street from our Inn. We had a great time the last time we were there in early March and we're looking forward to another one. 

The Lady At The Firefly Grill

Unfortunately, it was a quiet Sunday at the Grill, so we had to satisfy ourselves with getting to know the gal tending the bar.  We had pretzels and beer cheese for an appetizer to go along with our beers.  Evie then ordered white lentil soup, basically, lentil soup with chicken and an order of garlic fries.  I ordered one of the specials, pasta bolognese over Fettucine.  Both were good and we really liked talking with our bartender.  Because we left for the restaurant at 5:30, we walked out at 7:00 and wondered what to do for a bit.  So what do we do on a Sunday night?  Go for a stroll around Walmart, just across the street from the Hampton.  Pathetic but at least we did not buy anything.

We were back in our room by 8:00, watched some TV and I did some reading but we both were tired so we turned the lights off at 9:30 hoping for a good night's sleep.  Evie must have gotten one since it's now 7:00 and she has yet to text me to bring her up some coffee.