The Trip

With a chunk of vacation days left to use up before the end of the year - we are planning on taking a trip. The trip is taking us from AZ, to NV, then CA, a short stay in UT, winding it up back in AZ. Details will be reported at a later date. But we are excited. We are leaving tomorrow.

I'm sure we will enjoy the trip - but we saved the best for last. We will be in UT to see our kids and SADIE. So once again I am posting a video to get her pumped up for another visit from her AZ grandparents.

Bike Bash

Dad rides his bike to work a lot. He leaves in the morning when it is dark and sometimes he doesn't ride home until dark. But no worries - he has a bike head light and tail light. But yesterday things DID NOT go well. As he was at 39th and Dunlap he attempted to get onto a sidewalk and the edge caught his wheel and down he went. He was OK but the head light did not fare so well. It was in pieces. So he called for a rescue vehicle to pick him up. That was me!

This morning though, he was determined to ride his bike in to work again. So with a little engineer ingenuity he attached his brand new birthday present - flashlight - to his handlebars. He remembered, "helmet on for safety". He even wore his specialty biking shorts with padded rear end for his rear end (these were a birthday gift from 2 or 3 years ago that he never used) and off he went. I hope tonight he doesn't experience another Bike Bash!

Someone's Birthday

October 15th is a day of celebration in our house. The celebration was rather muted this year - but celebrate we did. Doug was center stage today. I made him this nice breakfast but he didn't eat it in bed - he is going to work too early these days for that. He opened one gift before work this morning. It was the Kevan's gift. He loved it and was thinking about it all day long.

I decided that instead of cooking dinner we would go out to dinner (I haven't yet caught up and done grocery shopping since my Great Grand Canyon Adventure - post to follow). But we decided to wait for Scott to get off work and then go to dinner. So by the time we ate dinner - at Black Angus - I was starved! The food was good. Doug got a special that included Lobster, Shrimp, and Steak. Here is the advertised special on the flier.

Most of his time at home in the evening was spent talking on the phone with family members who called to wish him a "happy birthday".

Anyway, we were almost in bed for the night before I remembered to get out his gift. He got 3 new shirts and a new flashlight. We have a lot of old worn down and failing flashlights but not too many that actually work to our satisfaction. So that was needed. I hope it is a good one that lasts for a long time.

Because of our later dinner we didn't even have room for cake or pie. Hopefully that doesn't throw Doug off his birthday groove. It's always fun to celebrate someone's birthday - especially when it is your own!

5'5" Is Not Tall Enough

Dad is always on the look out for a good activity for his Young Men. He has found that geocaching is something they usually enjoy. But he likes to ensure success. So he usually goes to the geochache spots first and makes sure he can find them. Then when the boys do the activity he can help them to find the right spot. Anyway, there are a couple on the church property. Another one is one very near the church in a park across the street. So he set out to check them out. The ones on the church property he found. Then the one across the street in the park turned out to be a toughie. He went no less that 5 times before he was successful. He went 3 times alone. Then he took me - with Billie in tow - one time - thinking my eyes might help him. But they didn't. After reading more about the stash and getting a few more tips he discovered that his 5'5" is not tall enough to get the cache. So he finally he took the big guns. He took Scott and his 6' friend Werner. And finally he was successful! Scott's contribution to the find is the photo record of the event. Here are a couple of pictures of the successful trip.

Note the tree is made of metal. It is really quite impressive.

In the world of geocaching you need to keep your "finds" secret. You don't want people who do not geocache to see the stash and possibly wreck it. So they refer to "those people" as muggles. And as you are about your geocaching activities you are supposed to keep the muggles oblivious to what you are doing by being secretive. This helps explain something Scott says in this video.

Oomm pah Oomm pah Oomm pah pah.

Friday we went out to dinner. We decided to find a restaurant in downtown Glendale to try out. We cruised around until we found Haus Murphy's German Restaurant. That was it! Germans celebrating Octoberfest and us eating at a German Restaurant - it was perfect!

We saw some of the staff in the traditional costume. Yes, some of the guys were wearing their Lederhosen. We figured they did this to encourage generous tipping.

The menu was bursting with German delicacies. Schnitzels galore. Do you know what a Schnitzel is? From the menu we read: "It is not a Hot Dog! It is a lean, tenderized Pork Loin, lightly breaded with our secret house blend of spices, sauteed to a golden brown." There were also a variety of Bratens. Some spaetzles - noodle or dumpling dish. A German Potato Pasta called Gnocchi was listed. And don't forget the myriad selections of wursts - bratwurst, knackwurst, wollwurst, and weisswurst. Then finally the strudels.

All this PLUS a real Oomm pah Oomm pah Oomm pah pah Band. We could hear some music in the back. Pretty soon we could tell it wasn't just a recording being played to add to the atmosphere. The two musicians wandered out in their Lederhosen and started playing near our table. (Also note the knee socks.) There was an accordian player and a guy playing a tuba - not the marching band variety. They played a rousing arrangement of "Roll out the barrel". It seemed to last forever. Just as we were tiring of that song they broke out into another one in their repertoire. But the music was nice and certainly did add to the atmosphere. (We used our cellphone to take pictures so the quality isn't very good.)

We each ordered something different so we could share. Dad ordered Jaeger Schnitzel. I ordered Medallions of Beef Tenderloin. All meals started with Cream of Onion Soup. We were a little hesitant about that but as it turns out the soup was delicious! Then the meal came and we dug in. Dad's dish was very thinly sliced or pounded pork breaded and fried. He also had some sliced fried potatoes and some white cabbage concoction. Mine had 5 thickly sliced pieced of beef. Each piece of meat was about the size of a large egg. It was served with some very delicious fluffly mashed cheesy potatoes and a red cabbage side dish that tasted a little like spiced apples. We both tried each dish. But mine won the delicious contest - hands down.

Mein Essen war köstlich! Auf Wiedersehen.

BILLIE BOOP

Billie is visiting again. She misses her mom. I don't know how to read her signals and so I'm not sure she is eating enough. I would describe her as a little finicky. Isn't that usually how a cat is described? We enjoy a daily walk or two (if Billie is lucky).

There are a couple of videos of her - tearing things up and just acting like "Billie Boop".

Peepers

Geepers Creepers - where'd ya get those Peepers? Do you really want to know? OK. Here goes.


I have truly moved into "old age-hood" (is that a real word?). I have been managing by using just plain old reading glasses - until today, that is. It had been several years between eye appointments and I finally decided that I should go in and have my eyes checked again. So the eye doctor was tickled pink that I should not only need a stronger prescription for reading but that I had also lost some distance vision that he could also correct. The condition means I now have "progressive" lenses. So - "I can see clearly now" the blur is gone! (Sorry, I keep breaking out into song.) And even with insurance - we had to dig deep to pay for these babies.


Yes I can see much better now. People no longer look fuzzy AND my arms won't have to stretch as far as they have been. So how do you like my glasses? What I didn't realize was that while I am wearing them I am a walking billboard for the Ellen Tracy brand. The name is plastered on the earpieces of my glasses. Sheesh! I couldn't see that when I was trying the frames on - because I couldn't try frames on while wearing my reading glasses! Oh well. Who is Ellen Tracy anyway? Does anyone know?


But as for my Peepers - they're doing fine now.

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