The SUN, The SUN

Blue Sky Dallas

Waking up to darkness at 5:50 and now, at 6:50, it's still dark thanks to Day Light Savings Time.  At least yesterday ended with the sun out and I assume this morning, it will also be true.  Welcoming the sun yesterday was energizing after a week of rain and gray skies.

Wednesday morning was a copy of Tuesday, with my getting up early, making the coffee, writing the blog, listening to Morning Joe (I remembered how to turn on the TV and find the channel guide) and wait for the gang to get up,  Beth and I left for the Satya yoga studio at 9:00 under cloudy skies.  The class was easier than the day before, slower paced and not as rigorous so I found it easy to keep up with the crew.  We walked outside to a miracle, sunshine and blue skies and it remained so the rest of the day.

Driving In Dallas Sucks

We were home by 11:00 in time for me to take Cody for another walk before all four of us jumped in our Outback and drove on the always busy highway for 20 minutes to a great store my daughter Beth had learned about from one of ESL students, an eighty-year-old Iranian woman.  It's called The World Food Warehouse.  It's in the middle of an industrial area, part of a strip of buildings. According to the owner, a Palestinian who grew up in the US, it's packed on weekends, less so during the week.  While we browsed for a good half hour, we had the store to ourselves with an occasional customer walking in.

World Food Warehouse

Its goods are mostly imported from either the Middle East or India and I was surprised that there were no Chinese food products.  We were amazed at the variety of foodstuffs, especially the fresh bread and ended up buying a package of 15 inches round Naan, still warm from the bakery.  If we were closer to home, we would have bought more than just a jar of Turkish tomato paste.  They also have a Halal butcher, catering to the needs of Middle Easterners.

Looking For Goodies

Beth and Marisa, however, had fun picking out lots of goodies, especially sweets like baklava, to bring home.  The best part, however, we saved for when we were done with shopping.  They also have a counter that serves Middle Eastern food like gyros with meat browning on circular grills and also a grill for what they call an Iraqui kebab. We ordered three gyros to go and ate them outside, tailgating, enjoying the 70º weather.  The gyros were delicious and I would be tempted to visit this store/restaurant a couple of times a month just for the sandwich.

Tailgating With Our Gyros

We didn't get home until around 2:00 and I still had time to get in a nap and some reading before taking Cody for another walk.  He is getting old, burdened with some arthritis in his hips but he still loves to get outside for a short walk.

Midafternoon, Evie and I went for a walk in the neighborhood of University Park which along with Highland Park, are two of the older but posh areas of Dallas.  Just about every home is at least a million or more, some in the tens of millions.  So, it's a neighborhood that's fun to walk around and sightsee because, unlike the cookie cutter developments of the last fifty or sixty years, every house in this neighborhood is different, many brick or stone, just a few made of wood.  No one has much of a yard as they have either added an addition or a garage, with just a small front yard.  The trees in the front yards for many of the older homes create amazing canopies of shade.

Southern Oak In Front Of One Of The Sisters

Both southern like oak and holly, some thirty or forty feet high or more, fill the streets with shade.  On the corner of Beth's street are four homes called the Four Sisters (built in the 1930s and 1940's), designed by famous Dallas architect Charles Dilbeck. They are interesting architecturally but I wonder about the interiors, whether they have been updated or not.

Another Sister

When we returned from our shopping, none of us felt like eating and thought we might just have leftovers for dinner but by 6:00, the thought of Indian food with the naan we bought became too much for us so Beth ordered three curries from an app called Ubereats.  Within forty-five minutes, the food was delivered to our door.  Magic.  Around 7:15, we settled down around the dinner table with our wine and enjoyed our curries.  They were quite good and we agreed we order them again.

We ended up watching Tidying Up with Marie Kendo although we thought we would just browse it.  After the first ten minutes, Marisa wanted to watch it, so we stayed with it for the next hour and it was quite fun.  I am not sure  I would watch the next episode but this episode was interesting and fun, because of the couple and their interest in improving their lives via 'tidying up.'  Beth and Evie went up to bed around 10:00 but I stayed up watching some basketball while Marisa sat on the couch, watching her show on her iPhone.

By the way, GO BETO!

Dark Skies, Thunderstorms, A Rainy Morning

Another Selfie 

It's 7:00 and dark and wet and I am getting tired of this weather, both on our trip West, our days in KC and now here in Texas.  Supposedly, and I use that word with caution, the sun may come out tomorrow. 

Yesterday it was back to routine, only I was in Dallas, not the lake.  I was up at 5:45, reading the news on my new MacBook Air, listening to Morning Joe, writing my blog, waiting for the family to get up.  It's always difficult in a new house, finding your way around, both in the kitchen and on the TV.  Both, for me, are slow learning curves so it takes lots of coaching and repetition by both Beth and Marisa for me to become comfortable with both,  Soon, I will be able to find where Beth keeps the coffee, how to find Netflix on the TV as well as how to turn TV on and off. 

Back To Class

At 9:00, Beth drove us to her Satya Yoga Studio in pouring rain, about 20 minutes from her home.  It's a studio where she is taking yoga training on one weekend a month, so she will get in her 200 hours of training and be certified to teach.  The studio is located in a strip mall, not quite the beauty of Studio Panterra in Westfield, set in the woods, next to a creek.  It was a busy place, two classes going on at the same time.  About 15 of us spent an hour in a fast-paced flow class, more rigorous and quick than I am used to but I hung in there and was mostly able to keep up.  We drove home in more rain, getting home around 10:30, 

Beth had two appointments for Marisa, one at 11:30 where she was getting her hair cut, the other at 1:30 with an orthopedist because she has been having trouble with her back.  Evie, Cody and I, then, were home alone, left to our devices and because of the weather, we did not venture out except for walking the dog and, mid-afternoon, a walk to the Highland Parks Village shops uptown, to perhaps the most expensive shopping area in the US.  We were hesitant to step inside a Tom Ford, Alexander Mc Queen or Cartier, even Starbucks!

A Dog And His Man

For lunch, I finished up the lasagna, watched some TV with Evie, then read and napped until Beth and Marisa called, wondering if we might want a Chick-fil-A for lunch.  They were stopping after Marisa's appointment. Since we had lunch, we declined and waited for them to get home. We then relaxed the rest of the afternoon, watching some basketball, the news, bugging Marisa about her school, her favorite movies, and shows.  She was not very forthcoming.  Surprise.

Dinner was a Beth specialty, sheet pan chicken, with assorted potatoes, topped by chicken thighs, baked in the oven.  With a salad, we had a delicious dinner.  The potatoes and chicken thighs were done to perfection, tasty and tender and done, as Marisa commented, directed at her Granny.  We then spent the evening in the living room, channel surfing, looking for something to watch and ended up watching some basketball, some cabin building, one set in southern Ohio, near Athens where I went to college.  We ended up going to bed by 10:30 looking forward to what tomorrow brings. 

C

Cody Boy

Early Morning In University Park , TX (Dallas)

Good Bye Kansas City

A quiet morning as I start the day.  Everyone is still asleep as they should be because it's only 6:30 here in Texas.  It's a surprisingly warm 59º and we may get some rain later in the day. Beth and I plan on going to her yoga studio at 9:30 and then she and Marisa have a hair appointment late morning, a doctor's appointment early afternoon. Evie aI will probably walk uptown to see what's going on while they are gone

The Great Plains

Yesterday seemed like a long drive and it was, eight hours from KC to Dallas via Interstate 35 which goes almost all the way from Kansas to Dallas.  It was a new way for us, around Wichita and Oklahoma City, through vast fields of brown farm or pastureland, many with windmill farms.  There was not much to see and we went through no towns.  

Green Energy

The last two times we made this trip, we took #49 south to Joplin, then #69 most of the way to Dallas on decent roads but not Interstates and we passed through a few towns which I prefer.  Next time.  We stopped for gas and Mc Donalds, no diners or sightseeing as we wanted to get to Dallas before rush hour.  

Finally

Once we hit Dallas, it was fine but their highways, byways, and cloverleaves are so complex that it made us long for the simple, usually empty road Chautauqua County.  I cannot imagine having to drive these roads every day but I suppose you get used to it.  In my forty-five years of teaching,  I commuted only my first two years.  The rest of the time I could walk to my classrooms.

La Maison

We arrived at Beth's around 3:45 as Waze predicted.  We have to park in the street because they are redoing the road, water, sewer and gas lines on the alley behind Beth's house which means they have not the way to get to their garage.  It will take a few months to get it done, probably longer if I know how those things go. It was great to see Beth and Marisa, both at home because Marisa is on spring break. We first got a quick tour of their new home, at least new to us and we loved it, lots of room, great living space, and a small backyard with a pool and hot tub.   We sat and talked for a good hour or more before finally getting up enough energy to bring out stuff out of the car and upstairs.

Beth And Marisa

We relaxed with a glass of wine and guacamole and chips before dinner, which was easy as Beth loves a local stores lasagna, so all she needed to do was heat it up and make a salad.  The lasagna was really good as was the salad.  We decided to be slobs and ate our dinner in the living room and watched the Academy Award-nominated film, BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY, with Rami Malek playing lead singer Freddie Mercury.  He was amazing and deserved the Oscar for outstanding actor award. It was a fun way to spend the evening as all four of us were tired and did not feel much like doing anything other than being couch potatoes.  Around 10:00, we went up to bed, hoping for some nice weather over the next couple of days.

Heading to JR Ewing Country...Dallas

Happy Together (and for the camera!)

Frank And Family

We are up early, what else, as we are driving to Dallas today, eight hours, to visit our daughter Beth and her family.  We hope to be off on the road by 7:00 and the weather looks decent, meaning no snow. Marlena and Mary both were up at 6:15 because Marlena is off to school by 6:45. an ungodly hour for a young girl.

Tired From Studying

Yesterday was another lazy day and none of us felt like doing much.  Mid-afternoon Tom did go to the gym for a workout but that was about it for any action. I was up early and gradually was joined by the family, first Evie, then Mary and Tom and finally the kids.  Tom decided to make his father in law's scramble, eggs with onions, fried potatoes, olives, and ham.  It was enough for all of us and really good, something I could easily enjoy any morning, especially since he topped it with avocados and hot sauce.  A good way to end the morning.

The Gamers

Around 11:30, Mary's Dad, Frank, came over to see us.  He has been staying with Tom and Mary after his wife passed away a few months ago.  He's a good guy, still mourning his wife of course but is doing well enough.  We watched some TV then a group played a game of Yahtzee.  Mid-afternoon, Evie prepped part of dinner, always the favorite of Tommy, lemon chicken with rice.  Frank left mid-afternoon, wanting to get some shopping before returning to his sister's house for a few days.  My new MacBook Air arrived at about 3:30, which kept Nick and me busy for a couple of hours, setting it up, downloading all the data from my old Mac to the new one.  It took longer than we thought but it is all set up to go now.

Nick And Grade School Buddy, Peyton

The Cooks

Around 5:30, Nick's good friend Peyton arrived, a soon graduate of Pittsburgh State who we have known for years.  He's a great kid, and his parents are Tom and Mary's, good friends.  We sat around talking, catching up on both Nick and Peyton's college life while Evie baked the chicken and Tom grilled some salmon.  Dinner was great, salmon, chicken, rice, spinach, and salad.  The boys loved it going back for seconds and thirds.

Kitchen Gals

Barbecue Guys

We ended the evening with strawberry shortcake for those who were hungry, and we watched a  National Geographic show on wildlife in Yellowstone National Park.  All seven of us sat around watching TV and talking, waiting for the magic hour when it was time to go to bed.  Both Evie and I had showered and packed earlier in the day.  Before going to bed, then, we put our bags in the car so we would have little to do in the morning other than having our coffee and brushing our teeth.  We went to bed by 10:00 and said our goodbye to the family because we were leaving for Dallas by 7:00.

Missouri Sunset (photo cred: Marlena)

Wet And Windy In Kansas City

Lee's Summit Chic

Sunday Morning Sunrise

La Maison

It's 8:00 in the morning, still, a quiet house and everyone but Bella and I are sleeping.  I was up at my usual, 6:00 but because of daylight savings time, it was 7:00 here so I felt better about getting up so early.

With My Grandson

Yesterday could only be described as a miserable Missouri weather day.  Not only did the wind howl most of the day but it was accompanied by rain, making it no fun to get outside and do something, like walk, or shop.  So Evie and I had a long morning coffee, as the grandkids slept in and Tom and Mary went to the gym for a workout.  Everyone was up or home by 11:00, so Evie made cheese sandwiches and heated up the leftover chicken soup for lunch.  Nick was not feeling well, suffering from allergy problems and had a bad night so he was not sure about his day.  We finally decided we would go walk around Lee's Summit, as they were having something they called a Snake Walk, where everyone moves from one bar, restaurant or shop to another.

Shopping At Dick's

Unfortunately, just as we left, it started to pour.  We decided to do some shopping until it let up, hitting Dick's and TJ Maxx then Best Buy and Target because the rain and wind never let up.  We bagged going to Lee's Summit and came home.

Keeping Warm On A Wet, Windy Day

The rest of the afternoon, we just hung out, talking, using our devices, and watching some TV, mostly basketball because Tom's favorite team, Kansas was playing.  I did manage to get in a nap, at Evie's urging and it energized me after a couple of long days of travel.

Cozy With Mom

Nick was feeling better by late afternoon and wanted to go to Five Guys for dinner.  Both he and Marlena love their burgers.  So after a cocktail, whiskey, soda and a ginger/lime mix, Tom's new favorite, we drove off in the rain, of course, to Five Guys, fifteen minutes away.  It seemed like lots of others had the same idea as the place was crowded with a long line to order.  We did find a seat for all of us and waited probably a good 20 minutes for our food.  We were not the only ones unhappy with the wait time as there were many hungry people, hovering around the counter, tight jawed, waiting for their burgers and fries.  On the positive side, the burgers and fries were fine, just the way Nick and Marlena wanted them.

Six Guys At Five Guys

Because the local high school's girls basketball team was playing in a championship game, Tom, Mary, and Marlena went to the game and Nick, his buddy Chris, Evie and I came back to the house to watch an Academy Award-winning documentary called FREE SOLO.  It narrates Alex Honnold's personal life over two years and the hard work,  preparation, practice, and thought processes before his free solo climb of El Capitan, in Yosemite National Park.

Alex Climbing The Face Of El Capitan

It's a nail-biting film, filled with drama and heart-pounding fear, as Alex finally decides the time is right to climb.  The filmmakers editing of a couple of years of film, the perseverance and skill it must have taken to actually film Alex's climb, is as amazing as the climb itself.  We all breathed a sigh of relief when Alex reached the summit and smiled.  And we could go to bed.

Bella and Buddy

KC Family Time

s

The Lee's Summit Gang, Tom Nick, Marlena, And Mary

It's 6:50 here in Lee's Summit, a Kansas City, MO, suburb.  It's just starting to get light here in my son Tom's new home and as usual, I am the only one up beside, Bella, the dog (doesn't seem right to call her a dog.)  It looks like a wet  day but it will also be warming up with a high in the '50s,  putting those freezing temperatures behind for a few days. 

Yesterday was another one of our least favorite drives, from Effingham, IL, over both the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, around St. Louis, then a boring four hour drive through the flatlands of Missouri, ending up finally in Kansas City. We forget how big the Midwest is, how it stretches from the Appalachian mountain range to the Rocky Mountains.  And most of it is flat.  The drive was uneventful, fortunately, just long.  We did stop at my favorite country western store, Kleinschmidt's, about an hour east of Kansas City, just off of Interstate 70. 

Need Boots?

We stopped on our first trip to Kansas City, probably ten years ago and every time we come this way, we stop again. It has an amazing range of western stuff, especially thousands of boots and its where I first started to buy Carthartt clothing.  Now we don't buy much as I have enough of their flannel shirts, so we just browse for 15 minutes, think about buying something but usually don't. 

We arrived at Tom's home just as Marlena, our 15-year-old granddaughter was getting home from school, happy and excited to see us.  Nick, a junior at Arkansas, also was home, just so he could visit with us.  What a great kid.  And Bella, of course, was happy to see us. 

A Happy Bella And Baba

Since Tom and Mary had moved a year ago, this was the first time to see their new home, a couple of miles from their old home.  It's new construction so everything is perfect, an open concept with a great kitchen and living room, with their bedroom on the first floor, the other bedrooms downstairs, so its a split level.  It's a bit smaller than their old house but feels roomier, with less upkeep and a smaller yard. 

Cuteness Overload

After the tour of the house, we caught up on both Marlena's and Nick's lives.  Both are doing well and Nick is looking forward to his paid internship in Houston with Exxon this summer, quite the plum for a finance major. 

Marlena And Her Baba

Marlena, too, is a happy sophomore, liking school with many good friends.  As we sat in the living room, talking and planning our weekend, Tommy mentioned that Amazon was having a great sale on Apple's MacBook Air.  Once he mentioned that, we started talking and he knew I was thinking about getting one.  So within ten minutes, I ordered one, saving two hundred bucks and it arrives here in Lee's Summit, on Sunday.  Gee but it's easy to spend money; just tap a few icons on your computer and bingo, a MacBookAir is on its way.  This reminds me of a visit six or seven years ago when we were walking through Costco and I mentioned we were thinking of getting a new flat screen Smart TV.  Well, a good one was just sitting there at Costco, a deal of course, so we ended up buying it and bringing it back to the lake in our car.  Trips to Kansas City can be expensive.

Nick And Granny

Dinner was already made, a big pot of chicken soup that Tom had put together that afternoon.  A bowl or two of the soup and French bread was all we needed for a great dinner.  After dinner, we sat around talking, thinking about watching a movie but played some Yantzee instead as both Evie and I were tired.  We actually went downstairs early, at 9:30, ready for bed and a good night's sleep. 

An Effing-Great Evening With The Heartland Dental Group

Fun With The Heartland Dental Group

Morning In Effingham

We both were awake by 5:00, waiting for the magic hour of 6:00, so I could walk downstairs and get us coffee from the breakfast bar.  We were in no great hurry to get on the road because the roads are snow covered, perhaps icy so we are going to give the crews time to salt the roads if necessary.  We have about a five-hour drive today to our son Tom's home in Lee's Summit, MO.

Leaving The Lake (Stedman Road)

We left the lake at 7:00, just as it began to snow and didn't stop until we were well into Ohio, 75 minutes later.  It was not fun driving #86, as the road was slushy, the cars and trucks in a hurry.  I took my time, never passed anyone until the blue skies came out in Ohio, for a bit.

Ohio

Ohio, then, was easy, gray skies but dry roads until we got outside of Indianapolis and then it began to snow again.  Fortunately, it did not stick on the roads although the flurries continued for almost an hour until we switched drivers in Illinois.

On The Road

It's not a favorite drive, especially this time of the year, flatlands, snow-covered fields between two cities, Columbus and Indianapolis, and numerous small towns.  Yet it always takes little over nine hours, no matter the weather or time of year.

Flurries And Wet Snow at Indiana/Illinois Line

We arrived at our Hampton Inn in Effingham at 3:30, our usual time, having gained an hour when we arrived in Indianapolis.  We were able to relax, watch some TV, catch up on news and emails on our computers before getting ready for dinner.  Because our go to a restaurant The Lone Star Steakhouse went out of business, we went to a new, highly recommended restaurant called the Firefly Grill, about a minute drive from our Hampton Inn.

Firefly Grill

We parked in the lot at 5:30 and it was already crowded.  When we walked in, the hostess said the bar was packed with a group and there probably weren't any seats.  We checked it out, sat at a table but the group noticed us looking at the open bar seats they were standing around and insisted that we take them.  They were all from Heartland Dental, with offices all over the Midwest, like Aspen Dental in the East.  They were having a great time, bought us beers, and we had fun talking with them. We ended up taking a  selfie and they promised to check it out this morning on our blog.  Because we sat towards the end of the bar, there were always two seats open for couples waiting for a table. First, we briefly talked with a couple from Springfield, IL, who were going to a country music concert just down the road.  Then a couple from Cleveland sat down and they were not only Slovenian (like Evie) both had best friends who lived down the street from my childhood house in Euclid, on 211 Street. They were on there way back to Cleveland from Phoenix where they had been for six weeks.  On our way out, a guy next to us, an oral surgeon, remarked how much he like my flannel shirt with leather elbow patches, so we talked with him a bit.  I would say we had an effing good time at the Firefly Grill.  And we were back at our Hampton by 8:30!! We watched the news, watched some TV, read and fell asleep way too early for us.  The day started out iffy but ended up with a bang.  We love bars.