Initial plantings, etc.

"Interesting" times indeed . . .

I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that the country is going through some unusually interesting times from an economic standpoint.

Very recent housing bubble and consequent "fixes" by our government. At staggering cost.

Timed frighteningly closely to the ascension of huge Democratic majorities and a president with supreme confidence in himself and in "government by experts." (I'm pretty sure it would be most difficult to find any useful evidence to support this confidence, but that's another story.) Empowered in large measure by Bush backlash (I often hear "if you think this is bad, consider how much Bush screwed up" - but even if true, I was hoping for better reasoning than that in support of these policies.) Cap and trade, health care "reform," permanent and drastic program expansion masqueraded as "stimulus," taxes, spending, amnesia about campaign commitments; you name it, we have it.

As best I can figure it, the goal is to pass as many laws and regulations as possible while media adulation persists and before the public wakes up to the cost and/or policy implications. If the initiatives continue to be as poorly conceived as other major initiatives in the last few months - well, that's tomorrow's problem. Yet I think the prez has some skills . . . I don't understand the continuous headlong plunge.

But enough of that. The purpose of this post is to list a few bloggers that I find helpful in sorting all this out. Right or wrong, the discussions are pithy and interesting. Typically it's professors musing, but not always.

These folks are definitely crowding out other news/information sources that I previously looked at - much higher value.

Recommended:

1. Don Boudreaux et al.

2. Econlog.

3. Greg Mankiw.

4. John Stossel. (Of all people - but he (or his writers) has a pithy way of repackaging items covered in more detail by 1-3 above. Plus he comes up with a few original things.)

5. Stephen Bainbridge. (law professor)

6. Larry Ribstein. (law professor)

7. Then there is Paul Krugman - but unfortunately I don't get much out of his writings. (I do try to stick with it given that it isn't ideal to live in an echo chamber.)

Blank slate

Our backyard is undergoing change we can believe in.

Plus we are using our own $$ to pay for it.

Pool removal (Day 1)

At long last, my nemesis is literally being broken and buried.

This was interesting to watch (but not so fun to listen to) - starting with early morning fence busting, followed by punching out huge holes in the bottom of the pool, breaking up the cool decking, then working along the top of the pool.

More fun coming tomorrow.

Time for action

We emptied the pool over a year ago. Finally are getting to the point where it will be blasted out of existence and replaced with a eventually-to-be-shady sitting area.

In the meantime, the water level has fluctuated. It's at an all-time low now. Super concentrated guk, probably weapons grade. Resident frog hasn't been seen in a couple months. I think all the mosquitoes have moved on. Ugh.

Couldn't resist, this reminded me of Kelly

(Also reminded me of a certain person who sat in a LaZ-Boy upstairs and crinkled a pretzel bag at the risk of Kelly snapping her neck.)

(Click to enlarge, as always)

(I think - certainly hope - no government funding was used for the Dare County "officials" to figure this out.)

Father's Day dinner

My dinner was late by a week due to schedule conflicts. But it turned out well worth the wait.

We were watching some show about German food a couple weeks ago, and they were discussing "sauerbraten." Which made me remember that PJ was quite successful with the dish way back when. (We don't remember whether she's made it since we moved to Phoenix.) Anyway, I had also enjoyed this mightily at Karl Ratzsch's in Milwaukee, as well as her previous successes.

The beef had marinated since Wednesday. I was reading wikipedia while she cooked; the name translates literally to "sour roast meat." (But wait; sauerkraut translates to "sour cabbage." So when you call a German a Kraut you are calling him or her a cabbage? I thought Russians loved cabbage. Confusing.)

We also learned that this originally was prepared with horse meat back in whatever century.

Authentic and awesome sides: red cabbage, spatzle, homemade bread. I went out and found some German beers (the double bock selected by CPG was best in show) and a nice Reisling.

Beyond that: apple dumplings for dessert.

I also have to note that PJ bought some Belgian beers for me, as yet unopened. Best in show appears to be Cuvee van de Keizer Blauw - brewed once per year on the birthday of Charles V. I had to chuckle because I was in the midst of reading this book's recounting of Charles V's activities just when receiving the gift - including his competition with Suleiman for the title "Caesar" ("Keizer"), as commemorated on this bottle. Which I almost hate to open up.

Jerome, Arizona (May 24 - 26, 2009)

Patricia and I always enjoy visiting Jerome, Arizona. Most recently in September 2007. The kids had given us a Christmas gift in 2007 for Jerome adventures - and it being our 29th wedding anniversary on 5/24 - it seemed like a good time to take advantage.

So we took our usual route (after coffee) on May 24 - drove up through Prescott and had lunch there (Gurley Street Grill). Walked around an art show on the Prescott courthouse grounds, and eventually drove up to Jerome. Checked into the Jerome Grand Hotel - a marvelous place. Relaxed, watched a movie about the Enola Gay (Memorial Day weekend), walked the town just a bit, and eventually had dinner at The Asylum. I don't know how they're doing it - this place is simply fantastic. I had the "grilled achiote rubbed pork tenderloin, with chipotle apricot glaze, brown rice and steamed vegetables;" my dining companion had the "mesquite bacon wrapped filet mignon with a cabernet demi-glaze" (same sides). These dishes are not all that unique (well, maybe chipotle apricot), but the execution is flawless. This also is the one place I regularly drink wine - nice flights of Arizona wines. Wow.

Spent Monday (May 25) eating and walking. Big breakfast at the Mile High; walked the town continuously; big lunch at Grapes; then took a hike on the Wood Chute Trail. The weather was almost monsoon-like, though it's a bit early on the calendar. Drizzly rain at certain points; lightning and the threat of actual storms. But we made out just fine. Repeat performance for dinner - everything the same, it was that good.

Tuesday (5/26) - town was much quieter as the weekend was over and most tourists gone. Breakfast, some shopping and walking, then up to Sedona for lunch at the Hideaway; walked around a bit there and then headed for home. Our one mediocre meal was at The Spotted Donkey in Carefree. The trip was v. fun.

OK, that's it for undergrad graduations

Paul Jr. graduated from ASU; the ceremony for his college was on Friday, May 15. So that's five undergraduate educations. Very proud of all five of these folks.

Kerry and Luis flew in for the weekend, which was a long trip and a very nice touch. We also attended Nedda's graduation ceremony on May 14.

House party on the evening of May 15 - nice turnout, very enjoyable time. We went to lunch at Richardson's on Saturday. A fun weekend all around.

Kerry took a bunch of photos over the weekend, but for now pretty much all we have are a few cellphone photos . . .

And now that I think of it, there have been six undergraduate educations, counting Patricia's nursing school graduation in 2006.

So below are photos from all six ceremonies, in chronological order (most current at top). Attendance = variable; only Patrick and me with 100% attendance.

Check out the search function

One of the nice things about a website like this is that it functions mostly as a journal or diary, except that it's much easier to find things than in the old paper versions.

And Google just added a new feature that makes "finding" things easier - check out the search bar to the upper right of the page. Just put in your term(s) and it will post results from the blog.

It's a good alternate method to the "labels" (also on the right side of the page), more comprehensive.

I can see this being increasingly useful as I move through year five on this site, and beyond . . .

T+M G Wedding (MN trip)

This quite probably was the social event of the season - my baby sister Therese married Mark Gaertner on May 8.

Continuing our recent bad habits, we didn't take much for photos. Hoping to receive from others, eventually. (That's you, Nicole.) So I'll add a few later.

Anyway, Patricia and I flew into Minneapolis on Thursday May 7. Met Kerry right after landing. Checked into hotel (Hampton Inn up by New Brighton). Basically headed right back to the airport to pick up Nicole, then onto the rehearsal. All seemed to go well. I was playing a few things on piano, which worked well enough (dropping out the tough notes really helps). And it was fun to play with some of the Cullen family musicians. Also fun hanging around the church getting caught up with all the arrivals.

Rehearsal dinner had walleye and Summit Pale Ale, quite good. Very nice spot for this event. Had a chance to talk to Mark's family a bit, we much enjoyed that group all weekend. Back to the hotel and some further chit chat at the Green Mill, and that was it for the day.

On Friday - hung out with Jim Dory for coffee at Bread and Chocolate; we were shunned by the female types, who were holding a "bride's breakfast" or somesuch in the other half of the restaurant. Did a couple errands: picked up cakes and flowers and delivered. Fun driving around with PJ, N, K. Stopped at WA Frost for lunch per our usual, we always enjoy. Then to Rosedale Mall where Cecilia and Therese were having the makeup done. It was fun to see them go through their paces. (This was the one place where we had the camera.)

Wedding at 6p; photos before; the ceremony was very nice, music went well. Reception at Germanic-American Institute on Summit Ave; interesting place complete with Rathskeller; enjoyed beverages, food, toasts, music, chatter. Kid's room a bit unruly. Talked a bit after in the breakfast room at the hotel, where most of the group had gathered.

Saturday - lightly scheduled, everyone was pretty tired. Got a chance to see Mark Gales's presentation on Monte Cassino in the breakfast room at the hotel, the report was really nicely done (I need a copy). Made our way to House house in afternoon. Golf ball game; big crew; dinner; some to Twins' game; others talked; dysfunctionals helped take us down some unanticipated conversational avenues. A fun day.

Sunday - checked out of hotel after breakfast; Mass with quite a few in attendance; back to House house for more conversation and lunch, saw various folks off as the day wore on; played a board game; Nick took N&K to airport; tried to go to BarleyJohn's with Steve & Cecilia but it was closed went to a plan B that still was fun; hurried to airport and back home.

The wedding actually was an awfully nice event. Fun to go 'round with my traveling buddy. Also very fun to have the girls there. Nice all around.

Should have had some kind of observance

But nobody told us it was National Nurses Week until the event had passed us by.

So all we got out of it was this poster. Click to enlarge and there is a nice photo of PJ on the right hand side.

Elijah (ASU Choral Union et al, 04/30/09)

I don't find it easy to rate these things, but this concert certainly was one of the most enjoyable of our now four years of membership in the ASU Choral Union.

Mendelssohn finished this oratorio in 1846. A wonderful mix of choral, soloists, quartets, orchestra. Quite fun for the chorus - lots of songs, various roles. Someone remarked that this was like an opera, just without costumes.

It did have a great story line. The Elijah story (summarized here) is dramatic - the three-year drought; Elijah raises the widow's son from the dead; the never-ending supply of flour and oil during the drought; the contest with the priests of Baal - calling down fire from heaven; Ahab; Jezebel; Obadiah; Elijah taken into heaven on a fiery chariot; "the still small voice" by which Elijah receives God's word; etc. Elijah certainly was big-time among the Old Testament prophets.

Our performance was put together nicely. In addition to the music, arrangements were made to project art works and photos on large screens on each side of the screen - along with the text being sung.

But in the end, it's all about the music. There were many wonderful moments. Some samples below. Video taken by our #2 fan (Patrick); also in attendance was our #1 fan. We had a fun stop at La Bocca for pizza and drinks after. Just a great experience.

Clip #1 is from early in the first half; a great line "His Mercies On Thousands Fall" - I very much like the way the parts roll over one other as the music progresses. Probably the part I liked best overall in the singing?



Clip #2 occurs in the second half; the clip commences with a chorus of angels singing "Holy, Holy' - this was after Elijah heard the "still, small voice" of God and was encouraged to return to his prophet business. The clip shows a bit of the interaction between chorus and small groups; plus an example of the art work and text projection. It ends with the chorus expressing God's injunction to Elijah ("Go, Return Upon Thy Way").



Clip #3 is near the end of the second half - just great choral stuff.

Road Trip! (Southeast AZ)

Patricia and I snuck away a few days to SE Arizona (April 18-21). We could hardly believe we hadn't been back to Bisbee since 2002. Here's what happened:

1. Drove to Tucson on Saturday and stopped first for lunch at Cafe Poca Cosa; first time we were at its new location. Sat at the bar and had a wonderful lunch and conversation with the owner, she is quite a success story, regularly appearing in the national foodie magazines. Mole sauce is quite something. Stayed at The Lodge on the Desert; dinner at Barrio. The hotel was in the final stages of a remodel, they are doing a great job.

2. Sunday - had a cup of coffee at the Starbucks on University, just west of campus. This is a beautiful shaded area right by U of A. Then packed and hit the road for SE AZ "wine country." Started with lunch at Canela's in Sonoita, which we had just been reading about in Arizona Highways. Sat outdoors. Just a gorgeous day. The light is different in this part of the state, very beautiful.

3. Then drove to five or six wineries; the industry is making progress since our last visit, though it sounds like they are finding conditions (soil and weather) perhaps a bit less promising than they were hoping in the early days. But who knows. We did a tasting at Callaghan, and also at Sonoita Vineyards (Gordon Dutt). We liked the first one, the second had an entertaining pour-meister. It was just a beautiful day, and the red soil, mountain backdrops, rarified light, etc., is compelling. A couple photos above.

4. Then drove to Bisbee, where I took the top Bisbee photo (looking up the main drag toward sundown). Stayed at the Copper Queen - had a really neat corner room with only one downside (featured cold and luke-cold water in the shower). And they said they had permission to name it the "Lee Marvin" room, I guess he stayed at the hotel (not necessarily this room) a number of times. Whoopee.

5. Weather was sensational. We enjoyed the coffee shop; nice dinners at the Bisbee Grille (Cafe Roka wasn't open the days we were in town); walked the shops and galleries; took a long walk up and around the hills; eventually found a nice bracelet for PJ. Most enjoyable were two lunches on the patio at the Copper Queen restaurant - sensational setting, nice local IPA, good food, outstanding company.

6. On our last day, we looked at a couple bed & breakfast places, a couple of which look quite promising for future trips. Then started our drive back to Phoenix (hadn't moved the car once while in Bisbee). Easy, pleasant return trip.

7. Stopped for happy hour at La Boca in Tempe, then met the rest of the choir folks for one of our final choir practices (working on Mendelssohn's Elijah).

Such a nice trip . . .

BTW, bottom photo is late 19th century bar artwork - Lily Langtry, a period actress (also associated, let's say, with the future Edward VII).

Birthday/Opening Day

Patricia claims that, back in the day, the "Opening Day" for the Cubs often fell on her birthday. I'm a believer. Doesn't happen much anymore because the season opens a few days earlier than it did "back in the day". But this year, thanks to the "World Baseball Classic", the Diamondbacks' opening day fell on April 6!

This wouldn't have made much difference to us except that Mary Beth came up with a four sweet tickets and one sweet parking pass; so we went to the game with she and Mark. V. fun, plus the Diamondbacks looked pretty good and won the game.

It was a gorgeous day outside. But unfortunately the roof was closed shortly after the typical "fly-over." No idea why they don't keep that thing open whenever possible, the park is so much nicer with the roof open . . .

This was our second trip to the ballpark in a few days, as POC had lined up tickets for the Diamondbacks - White Sox exhibition on Friday evening. Also very fun.

This makes three games in less than a month. And we haven't paid for a ticket yet.

Visitors; spring training

It's been nice that our out-of-town daughters have been around Arizona some lately. This started with Kerry on a work-related trip that had her here in Phoenix the last two weekends of January. This even included Super Bowl Sunday (February 1) which, shockingly enough, included the Arizona Cardinals. It was fun having her around.

Nicole was in town the first weekend of March, which also was v. fun. POC has been around since White Sox hit town for spring training. Patrick is an "intern" with the White Sox for spring training (working for POC) and has been traveling far and wide going to spring training games.

The two Patricks hosted us (Patricia, Chris, Nicole and me) for a game at the new White Sox spring training facility (Camelback Ranch, shared with the Dodgers) on Friday, March 6. Perfect weather. Longish trip out there. Somewhat amateurish competition - it was the Australian national team (trying to prep for the World Baseball Classic). But a classically delightful spring training experience. We were able to tour the facilities after the game (not to mention a press box tour during the game. (The press box tour was complete with a Bud Selig sighting - he was touring the new stadium, just like us! If only we had a picture.)

Per our recent and thoroughly unsatisfactory habit, we are failing to take photos of much of anything that goes on. That's why this post only includes shots of our Camelback Ranch hosts. Just look what passes for a "desk" if you're an intern.

Piano

It was interesting as we had some tune-up work done on our piano over the last few weeks. The sequence:

1. Piano was up on its side for months while the floor was installed and other various remodeling items were pursued (top photo).

2. Piano tuner came out and did his thing.

3. But the piano was still really quite dirty inside so he came back out and did a clean-up and some adjustments (two photos).

4. He has good contacts with the Steinway factory in New York and had them track down information on the piano. Confirmed it was a model "O" (specs discussed here) in mahogany, completed on May 16, 1921 and sold to Sherman Clay in San Francisco in November of that year.

So what's the outlook for this piano as it completes its 88th year (with 88 keys)? It would benefit from some more work but certainly meets our needs.

Elephant Mountain, NBA All Star/Fashion Square, TrenteCinq35

We had an entertaining Valentine's Day weekend.

Went out to Fashion Square mall on Saturday afternoon - Patricia had a return to make, and we were also just poking around. We were surprised at the large number of cars in the parking lot, it being a run-of-the-mill Saturday in an economic downturn. Or so we thought. It turns out that with the NBA All-Star game in town, a big chunk of the attendees were hanging out at the mall. So that gave it a bit different flavor than your normal Arizona/Scottsdale crowd. Magic Johnson was in Nordstrom's in support of his wife's new line of fashion. Etc.

Valentine's dinner at the Belgian restaurant - TrentCinque 35 - the place was packed for once - we are hoping this place thrives, it's small, local, not a chain, delightful. And the Bornem double Abbey ale is not to be missed. For entree I ordered what is touted as a "Flanders favorite" (and I believe it) - beef, apples and prunes braised in a dark Belgian beer.

On Sunday (2/15) the weather was pretty good so we took advantage and finally made our way up to the Spur Cross Ranch - a bit north of Cave Creek, this area was recently bought up and saved, let's say, from developers. Turns out to be a wonderful place for a hike. The trails immediately take you away from the parking lot and other signs of civilization. There is a trail named "Elephant Mountain" - long, lots of up and down, beautiful views, but 6.8 miles total. I wasn't planning to do anything like this, but Patricia kept chugging along and all of a sudden we were finished. We failed to take a camera, so I'm posting someone else's photos. Cave Creek, and views from the back part of the hike.

Various adventures: beginning 2009 (EMG #80)

This continues the discussion of our holiday activities . . . still missing photos (which I also rely on to trigger my recollections of the events, so likely there will be more to come on text as well as photos).

1. January 1 - Patricia and I were down to breakfast at the hotel by around 7:30a, with exactly zero other customers around . . . maybe New Year's Eve activities slowed the breakfast crowd? Anyway, we got organized and went over to Arnie & Joann's place to pick up our three sons. Luis, POC, Nicole, Kerry stayed in Chicago for the day to go to the outdoor hockey game at Wrigley Field. The rest of us drove to Iowa. Very easy trip; the Chrysler minivan works well for these purposes; no weather issues; made it to St. Joe around 5:30p. Which was right in time for a pork patty supper. A good group of early arrivers were there; played cards (some played spoons) watched a couple bowl games (not competitive). Eventually up to the AmericInn in Algona. Chris, Patrick and Paul Jr. were were channeling Mike O'Donnell and Vo Zintak as we finished the trip.

2. Jan 2 - breakfast and chatting at the hotel for quite awhile. Charlie went with the four of us over to the YMCA to find some exercise; ended up playing basketball there. We picked up Kevin Illg for our sixth; the kid can actually shoot the ball. He and Charlie had some good matchups. This was fun, the facility was quite nice. Then back to the hotel, where everyone eventually gathered (including car #2 from our group, consisting of the four above-named hockey fans). It turned out that all six daughters and all three sons were able to make it for their father's 80th birthday - first time we all were together in quite a few years. So that was nice. We went over to some studio for a family photo. This was fun to do and a good idea, but unfortunately it turned out that the product wasn't all that great. (That also was the only point where the 11 of us were more or less "alone together," which was a nice feeling in itself. And it did bring to mind little things like Glenn's Studio (family portraits from the 1960s).) Back to the hotel for a pizza supper; then a long session of bingo featuring prizes brought in from various parts of the country. Followed by a late euchre game involving CCG and my sons in the break room. Weather was turning quite a bit colder, with wind and some precipitation starting.

3. Jan 3 - everyone eventually got organized at the hotel and we made our way down to St. Joe for noon meal, etc. Grandma had ridiculously good baked goods every time we turned around. At this point the weather was icing up pretty significantly. There were a couple NFL playoff games, including the first home playoff game for the Cardinals in something like 47 years. This overlapped with the 80th birthday party but it turned out that the Cardinals were able to win without us. Played cards a bunch in the afternoon.

4. The actual 80th birthday party was held later in the day, at the "learning center" (chapel) in the St. Joe school. Very nicely arranged, including choice of location; food was good, decorations nice; etc. It was most enjoyable to hear folks share thoughts about EMG, with three generations of commenters chiming in. There is a feeling of continuity about these things (at least for us (somewhat) older folks); you can't help thinking of the previous generations and wishing they were there to speak up as well. As far as a sense of continuity, it also was an interesting thought to know that prior generations were resting, let's say, in the cemetery right up the hill. Unique. EMG is at a stage where he is as good an embodiment as can be found for St. Joe continuity . . .

5. But enough of that; after the party, we went back to the house in St. Joe. At this point I was getting thoroughly reacquainted with concepts such as warming up the car, chipping off ice, etc. First time in this level of weather since the 80s. There was plenty of ice by now. More talking and card playing, then drove back to Algona up an icy (but adequately salted) highway 169. Late cards with CCG again at the AmericInn (and Kristen this time); we were in the breakfast area but were invited to play Texas hold-em with another group in the break room. Intriguing offer and good for some laughs, but we declined. No doubt we looked like easy marks, or something. . .

6. Jan 4 - Everyone got organized early and went down to St. Joe for 8am Sunday mass. Icy again. Tailwind permitted sliding along hotel parking lot when walking to car. Icy at school and church. Stopped for "coffee and rolls." We had thought that we would drive around St. Joe area a bit on this day, plus tour the house on the farm. But the weather made that unattractive. Alternate attractions included NFL playoff games and pretty much continuous card playing. Some who planned to travel stuck around for the day; others made it back to Mpls (with delays along I-35) or Storm Lake. Luis and POC continued to hold up quite well with a large group of new friends in confined quarters. Probably never played so many cards at one time. One group switched to Chinese checkers later in the day. Said our goodbyes. Eventually back to hotel, where we sat in the lobby for awhile and chitchatted about our vacation travels.

7. Jan 5 - this was our travel day to return to Chicago and Phoenix; quick (and unsuccessful) stop at the house in St. Joe to look for some kind of hair dryer or something (it was nice to see the folks there). Icy conditions had pretty much given up. Various stops; the two cars pretty much stayed together; eventually split at O'Hare (from which Luis was flying; also said goodbye to Nicole and POC there); then to Midway where said goodbye to Kerry; easy flight to Phoenix.

8. So that was it. Highly unusual confluence of circumstances where we all could be together, have time with just us during the first part of the break, then also had time with most of the relatives on both sides of the family. Our two traveling guests, not surprisingly, were easy and fun traveling companions throughout, at least as far as I know.

By the way, the goodbyes are never fun but maybe because of the duration and the nice time, at the end it made me very sad to say goodbye to Nicole (at the O'Hare oasis) and Kerry (at Midway). Such a nice time together. The summary above gives some info about how the days played out but - as wonderfully fun as all that was - it's pretty obvious that the gift is just being together.

Various adventures: closing out 2008

Back in Arizona and slowly catching up with things after a delightful holiday break. Some quick notes regarding the December portion of our holidays (through 12/31/08) are below. Will post on the January portion soon. These posts are much delayed in part because I've been stalling around waiting for some photos. (They haven't arrived so will be added later. Patricia and I didn't take pictures (other than a cell phone photo of "Santa" per below) so it may take some time . . . )

1. Anyway, the fun started with Patrick's graduation in Tucson on December 19, described in the preceding post.

2. With Nicole and Kerry in town, now all seven of us were together, a state which continued until we split up in Chicago late in the day on January 5. I'm grateful we had all those days together and wonder when/if it will happen again for that long of a time.

3. Pre-Christmas, we did some Christmas prep stuff, and mostly enjoyed hanging around the house together. Various parties, including at both Linda and Ray's and Helen and Massoud's on 12/20; party at our house for the graduation on 12/21. The seven of us had dinner together at Richardson's on 12/24, a very enjoyable meal again. Prior, Paul Jr. reprised his role as Santa at the Cummings' Christmas party (at which we all stopped by).

4. Patricia had to work on Christmas Day (like last year); the rest of us hung out at the house, visited her at Mayo, and watched Chris prepare a fine Christmas feast (which was served up promptly after she got back from Mayo).

5. Then spent a couple more days basically just doing miscellaneous things together. Kerry and Nicole showed what seemed to be an unnatural interest in some Wii shooting game. Quite a bit of Wii bowling. We had fun playing the "tip-in" version of HORSE at the basketball courts down at the park. Patricia continued cooking various great dinners. Mary Beth hosted a nice holiday party on 12/27.

6. We then hit the road - flew to Chicago on 12/28. Mary Beth and "Bumber" took us to the airport. Paul Jr. forgot his wallet and cell phone- some ID issues, though didn't create much inconvenience. Easy flight; typically slow process getting car and baggage at Midway. We met up with POC there. Lunch at Portillo's. Dinner at the restaurant right up the road from Joann's place, I already forget the name. Weather a non-factor; we heard tales that things had been awful for quite a few days, then a 55 degree day with heavy rain that washed away all of the mess just before we arrived. Met an absolutely massive dog (named Kirby). It was fun just chit-chatting etc., Arnie & Joann are fine hosts.

7. December 29 - fine breakfast courtesy of Arnie. For some reason we had the idea of going bowling, and there were some very good scores. So that was fun. Several grocery store trips culminating in a very good fajitas dinner. Played pinochle; Patricia and Nana won games, I wasn't even close. Another fine day mostly hanging around.

8. December 30 - A bunch of us (i.e. my three sons and me) eventually went to the north side and had lunch at a Geno's East location near Nicole's apartment. It was good, except they forgot to put in the order for Chris and me (meaning everyone else sat and waited with us). POC went to pay for lunch, which was nice except Nicole had already taken care of it. Luis had arrived from DC by this time so he was with for lunch (also Kerry, Nicole, POC). Took a quick tour of Nicole's apartment after lunch (first time I was at this location) - nice. Luis brought Hayek's "Road to Serfdom" as a Christmas gift which is a fine choice especially with the economic goings-on and disorganized political response these days. But probably not as good a gift choice as the Halo figurines that soon absorbed my sons. After all this, back out to Joanne & Arnie's where we had a chance to sit, relax, talk for an hour or so.

9. In the evening we went over to Jan Zintak's place. The nine in our traveling party went, plus Nicole and Danny Loza. In addition to Jan and Rita, Pat and Nancy were there, also Voe showed up (with lots of tales of his visits to Arizona (his son is a cop in Phoenix, it turns out)). Jan does an unbelievable job decorating her apartment. She had all kinds of snacks and desserts, also ordered pizza for the large group. This turned out to be a very fun evening - even did some Christmas singing. Jan pulled out her cassette tape of the 1977 Glee Club Christmas album, I appreciated that she was thoughtful about that. And haven't seen a cassette tape version in many years (though I have several LP copies).

10. December 31 - some folks did lots of work decorating Joanne's place - including creating what were loosely termed as "party hats" - modified shower caps, actually. Did some prep, Costco shopping, etc. (somewhat re-created the meal we had put together courtesy of Costco for Patrick's graduation. Party in the evening - music, dancing, nice food, typical New Year's Eve type entertainments. All but one of us wisely shed our party hats fairly early in the evening. Got to see John's family plus Ping's sister were there. Back to the hotel with a group of animated passengers, where some probably slept more soundly than others.

So that's it for 2008 . . . and I must say I had quite a wonderful year with my little friend and all, not sure how you'd beat it . . . then again it seems like that pretty much every year . . .