My Mom Turned 79 Today

Yes, she's been, and continues to be, a good mom indeed.

Something I wanted to mention about her is how much I appreciate her role in promoting an interest in music in our house. This has been a huge benefit to me personally. And each of my siblings had a bunch of talent, and developed and used it as they liked over the years.

Starting with the piano.

Ah yes, I well remember the day the piano was brought into the house (though I couldn't tell you the exact year). It was a classic upright, perfect for the parlor of an Iowa farmhouse. Dad backed up the pickup to the "cold entry" and he and (I think) Jerry Snetzer (sp?) brought it right in. So I thought they were pretty tough guys (which they were).

It never would have occurred to me at the time, but it's pretty hard to imagine her having to listen to all of us bang away on that piano - for literally decades. This had to be a headache-inducing experience, but I don't ever recall a complaint. Instead she always told us how good it sounded. (Even when at least some of the time it must have been just awful.) Same positive reaction to however we performed in the piano recitals in St. Joe. Encouragement goes a long way!

It also must have been a big task for her to monitor all those 30-minute sessions (via the white kitchen timer that sat atop the piano). From the practicer's perspective, that timer really moved slowly some days. As Patricia has experienced here, the performers aren't always enthused about putting in their daily half-hour sessions.

I guess the main point is that having nine kids take up music is something that doesn't just happen - it's nurtured. And Mom was the key driver on this. (Dad was a big supporter also, and also led by example via participation in the church choir. But Mom drove this on a day-to-day basis. And it's her birthday so I'm writing about her. Plus she plays the "oom pah" song on the piano, check out the video of a 2005 Arizona performance that at least our dog found inspirational.)



She is even out scuffling to sell tickets for the local community concert series, which you can read about here.

And look at the benefits of this effort. On top of all the enjoyable music over the early years, some of us are still performing in our communities (for example, Carol and Dolores do all sorts of things in their communities).

Even better, I have no doubt that her efforts are a contributing factor for the next generation. I don't think that I could list all the performers and what they can do. In my own house, all five of the kids played piano and performed in high school advanced chorus (with a boost of encouragement from their own mother); Chris and Paul Jr. are with me in the ASU Choral Union. The Cullen family members have been know to do all sorts of interesting things musically. Julia is into instrumental music. Etc., etc.

This is the kind of thing that a good Mom does.

Happy #79!

Weekend away (but not far)

Patricia and I have not had much success organizing little getaway weekends. But we finally made it last weekend. Drove down to Tucson on Friday morning and stayed two nights at the JW Marriott Starr Pass resort. This is a large place, just finished in 2004. We hadn't seen the property before and were pleasantly surprised with pretty much everything.

We had no activities planned, which was the point. Friday was rainy, Saturday - Sunday were spectacular. We watched some NCAA tournament games, and visited the "presidio" and "lost barrio" areas of Tucson. Those places are always fun to wander through.

We also ate a remarkable amount of really excellent food. The restaurants at the resort were delightful. Saturday dinner was at Primo, which you can read about here. The chef won some James Beard award and definitely can cook. Here's the description of my entree: sturgeon with carmelized cauliflower and eggplant with golden raisins, currants and capers in a white balsamic vinagraiette with crisp panelle, arugula and basil. How do you even dream up that combination? And what is panelle? The meal was wonderful. We sat on the patio looking at the moon and Orion, with the chef's herb garden right in front of us. Friday dinner at Signature was also excellent.

Patrick paid us a courtesy visit on Saturday, then we went to lunch on Sunday with he and pals at Rosa's, a Mexican restaurant a bit northwest of U of A (described here). He recommended the enchiladas, which was a fine recommendation indeed. It was a fun lunch. (If you think I'm fixated on the food, you're right. Haven't even talked about our Friday lunch at Barrio, one of Tucson's best downtown restaurants.)

One of many nice things about this resort is that you could sit outside for meals, and we did for breakfast, lunch, dinner, breakfast. With great views of downtown Tucson.

The place also had hiking trails right off property. This is in the immediate area of the Saguaro National Monument (you can see the effect in the photo). We hiked Saturday afternoon. The turn-around point was some stone house in the absolute middle of nowhere.

Fun.

Worth an occasional sniffle . . .

This photo was taken right outside my home office window . . . the fragrance from the citrus blossoms is really quite remarkable. And the weather permits open windows 24/7. So it's a wonderful spot from which to work. The citrus is about a week or 10 days behind its normal blossoming schedule.

Only downside with all this is that as the years go by, I'm starting to have a slight allergic reaction to some of the stuff that blooms this time of year. But this very minor inconvenience is well worth it.

A Nice Birthday Tradition

For many years now, Patricia has been kind enough to provide a home chef service to each birthday honoree at our house. Basically, you can order - and she will prepare - whatever dinner you want. Full menu. Within reason, of course.

This really enhances the birthday celebrations. And results in many, many hours of work.

While there have been some outliers over the years, the menus do tend to fall into a pattern. The kids have graduated from "corn flakes" chicken to more sophisticated (and difficult) dishes. Fettucini alfredo, pepperoni stuffed chicken, chocolate cheesecake, and beer/cheese soup are among the repeaters.

In my case, I've been ordering the same banana cream pie for many years. The kids didn't like it much way back when, but unfortunately their outlook has changed. This isn't any old banana cream pie - check out the ingredients (click to enlarge, from well-worn 1989 magazine), which include white chocolate, banana liqueur and creme de cacao. The crust is moreso a cookie than anything else. Best of all, leftovers from the pie, if there are any, taste even better the next morning with coffee.

As far as an entree, in the last few years I've been going with a marinated grilled pork loin. How can it be anything but awesome when the marinade includes Negro Modelo beer and serrano chiles? And it's served up with "nectarine and onion sauce" and grits! Our chef makes quite a few wonderful things but, trust me, this is #1.

So, thanks much to the chef for making all the birthdays special occasions. Six beneficiaries over 20+ years each adds up to a lot of birthday cooking. This is why you track down a good wife. (Among other things.)

P.S. By the way, this year's dinner beat all. And it was fun to have my sons around, with a few other distinguished visitors. As a bonus feature we were treated to a mighty entertaining 2-OT Suns victory over Dallas between dinner and dessert, described here.

A Photo I Like

During our visit to St. Joe a couple weeks ago, we saw a photo that I had forgotten about, but really like. At the top of this post is a cropped version 0f the photo showing my grandfather, Ernest J. Gales, with his dog "Joe Boy." (At bottom is the full photo plus the notations I put on the reverse side when discussing the photo with Ernest J. some 25-30 years ago.)

So this was taken sometime in 1915 or 1916. Everyone shown in the full photo, including the dog, appears to be in excellent spirits, and then some. It's interesting to see a photo from that time of the gravel road that became U.S. 169. The photographer (who was it anyway?) had expert timing to catch Ray Gales standing on his head (though Aloysius Gales appears to have been caught at a less flattering moment).

The dog that we had as kids in the 1960s was given the same name -- "Joe Boy" -- by Ernest J himself. I guess he took naming rights without paying a fee or probably even asking. I don't have a great photo of Joe Boy #2 at hand, though this 1965 photo - 50 years after Joe Boy #1 - gives a look at him. (Back row L-R me, Steve, Cecilia (in sweet hat), Ernest M; front row Barb, Charlie, Dolores.) Standing in front of the '63 Ford Country Sedan. Not sure why most of us appear outfitted in Sunday best, yet EMG is in business casual.

Anyway, Joe Boy #2 showed up from nowhere and was a fine dog for us for many years. Loved chasing cars.

The recycling of the Joe Boy name seemed to start a trend. Later there was a female dog named Max; its male successor was named (of course) Maximilian. The lack of originality hit bottom with two dogs named Schmutt 1 and Schmutt 2.

Anyway, mostly I like the top photo showing Ernest J and his friend, now 90+ years ago.

As always, click on photos to enlarge.

CPG = Homeowner (and Occupant)

Big news - Christopher moved into his house on Wednesday (February 28). And out of the apartment at Tatum south of 101 (which was actually a nice unit with great views from the third floor areas).

He and Jon were well organized for the move. The new house looked really good (first time I've seen it without the previous owner's kid stuff all over the place). Kitchen remodeling is great and ready to go, and the overall space allocation is just right.

Unfortunately I failed to get photos of the interior goodness and only snapped a few badly-lit "before" photos in the back yard. Which needs work, but is large and configured well.

Here's the location on a map (except their house is across the street to the north, and one house over to the east, from the Google arrow).

55th Anniversary Bash - The Actual Date

February 19 (Monday) was the genuine 55th anniversary. Also our return travel date. We had a fine breakfast together.

The weather had warmed considerably. The grandchildren still present (Nicole, 25; Patrick, 20; Emily, 6; and Allison, 3) wanted to go out in the snow. So outfits were put on. Patrick had the chance to put on a pair of five-bucklers. They went down to the hill by St. Joe church and had a fine time.

Grandma served a v. good lunch complete with apple pie, then made up bags of cookies for the travelers. Said goodbyes around 12:30p. Cecilia drove us to the airport; easy trip and we made our flight easily. Landed in a rainstorm in Phoenix around 7:30p.

So this was a fine trip all around. Busy but not rushed. We had the chance to see lots of relatives. We ate ridiculous amounts of wonderful baked goods. And we were present for a 55th wedding anniversary for two fine folks.

P.S. My parents really seem to be doing great. How many folks celebrate their 55th by sledding down a hill (check out the video of EMG and his cheering grandchildren). And my mother hauled off to Algona for the concert board meeting or somesuch community event that very evening. Good for them!

55th Anniversary Bash - The Party

We slept in pretty late on party day (Sunday, February 18). Those who are good at this sort of thing were very efficient in setting up the house for a big party. Others played toys with small children.

While a few invitees couldn't make it due to illness or iffy driving conditions, we ended up with a great turnout. We ate around 1:30p or so; filled two large tables. Good food and conversation all around. I must recognize Barb's cake-baking skills - some kind of raspberry cheesecake plus a chocolate-caramel-pecan wonder.

After eating, more talking. Watched the highly-excellent video from the 50th wedding anniversary (note the rapt attention of the viewers).

I include three photos showing the representation from the three generations present. First photo includes Clarence, Irene, Kathy & Daryl; with honorees in front row plus Mary Lou. Second photo shows children present (Barb, Dolores, Therese, Cecilia, me). Third photo shows grandchildren present: Joe, Kieran, Tom, Nicole, Patrick, Allison, Angie; Clare, Julia, Emily, Margaret, Jenna. I think those photos pick up everyone except Art (but he's in a photo above).

Mark & Sue Bormann stopped by, also Sherry with daughter.

Some of the guests drifted off as evening neared; then the card-players got started. Those who are good at this sort of thing then pulled off dinner for 18 pretty effortlessly (you can see the fine gathering below). The Cullen family needed to leave, but fortunately not until after they played a few songs for us. They played some sort of wistful Irish tune followed immediately by "Turkey in the Straw," which certainly made us think back many years to Mike Bormann (and made me feel kind of wistful myself, actually). They also did a fine rendition of my third-grade recital piece, the "St. Paul Waltz." Which I appreciated hearing.

Then the remnants of the party sat around the kitchen table well into the night talking over many things and finding ourselves hugely entertaining for the most part. This part of the day was quite enjoyable. Spoke to Carol in Nome and had a discussion about the 55th honorees' visit for the Iditarod planned for next month. Dad showed some of his winter gear, but I think Mom may need to borrow a thing or two. More chatting. Among other important topics, we covered the distinctions between Ken G., Kenny G., and Ken E.

End of a fine day - and we weren't even up to the actual anniversary date as yet. Will discuss that next.

55th Anniversary Bash - The Lead-In

As mentioned in the previous post, I travelled to Iowa for my parents' 55th wedding anniversary. Patrick and I flew to Minneapolis, arriving around noon on Friday, February 16. Therese was on time, we jumped into the car and headed south. But we were hungry. So we stopped at Famous Dave's - a BBQ chain of some sort. I must say we were shocked when we stepped out of the car into a vicious south wind. Temp was probably somewhere over 10 but wow. I don't recall the last time I was in winter in a northern climate.

The restaurant was located in the Cabela's complex a ways south of Minneapolis. They served an A-rated pulled pork sandwich (something I am constantly looking out for). How nice. I would consider joining their PIG Club if I was nearer to their stores.

What else was there to do after lunch but to explore Cabela's (especially because Patrick had never seen the place). Therese had the right take on the place, describing it as "its own ecosystem." Check out the photo of my fellow-travelers enjoying some kind of diorama. (There was an even better diorama featuring African fauna.) We especially admired the "gun library" and Patrick liked the one-man tent from which turkeys can be discreetly blasted.

Off to St. Joe. Some blowing snow along the way. Once there: conversation, fine turkey dinner, demos by my dad of his increasingly impressive array of electronics. Spoke to Jim Dory in Nome. Slept downstairs, where the temp never rises above 64 F (upside: stops all insects other than a few lady bugs). Had a great night's sleep after conquering my shivering.

All signs were positive for Saturday, February 17. Just check out the "clean" cinammon roll that was sitting there just for me. Another mighty cold day. Patrick and I picked up Nicole at Storm Lake in the afternoon (dropped off by House travelers); got to see some genuine blowing snow along US 18 (complete with a couple ditched vehicles). Ah, the memories. Barb, Emily, Allison arrived from Eau Claire. This was a positive addition to our fun.

Then to Mass, where it happened that mom was leading the pre-Mass Rosary and dad was lector. So that was fun to watch. Except my reverie was interrupted when Barb recalled that the ham hadn't been taken out of the oven. So I lit out during the sermon to pull it out. Back for dinner. Nicole and Patrick received info about their grandpa's computer setup. They also received info about the circumstances leading to the rather disturbing framed self-photo of EMG that you can see on top of the computer desk (click photo to enlarge). (That's a whole other story.)

General high-level socializing until going back to sleep in the cooler. It was a very fun day.

This brings us to the day of the actual 55th party, which I'll cover in a separate post.

Road Trip!!

Taking off bright and early tomorrow for Minneapolis, then via borrowed (from House family), chauffeured (by Therese) car service to the town of St. Joe, Iowa. Patrick is sloughing off his U of A duties to come along with me. Nicole to come in from Chicago on Saturday. Other important personages among my relatives also will be there, to be named later.

And it's for a BIG event: 55th wedding anniversary for Mom and Dad! That doesn't come along very often.

If we can have half as much fun as these folks celebrating #53 a couple years ago, it will be all good.

(And hey, I think that kid in the picture is sitting in the same high chair I used 50 years ago. In any event, the marriage has been around longer than the chair.)

Change of view

Yesterday was pretty hectic at work (by "at work," I mean up in the NE bedroom where I have a home office). I didn't step outside once, or even look out front. Went out for coffee with Patricia at about 6:15a this morning (before some kind of certification class she was attending) so it was dark when we left the house. When I came back, I was somewhat surprised to see that our neighbors had painted the exterior of their house a darker color. (Garage door is the previous color). I think they had it done yesterday, but maybe they were sneaking around overnight?

Is this a minor event? Yes. But hey -- as with most non-nomadic folks -- the view out front of our dwelling is pretty static. Especially in a desert climate. So this was the first big change of view in over 12 years.

Part 2 - Freezing

Backyard photos from Wednesday Jan 31. Ice on the lawn plus plants with severe frost damage from a couple weeks ago.

And here's our front-yard orchid tree, dropping leaves after the big frost. Not sure how that will one will turn out.

Forecast highs up to 80 next week.

Maximum enjoyment from Christmas decorations

Patricia is so talented at taking down and putting away Christmas decorations that it only seems right that she handle the task. I stay out of the way except when manly lifting is required.

Given that Mayo Hospital has been running her into the ground lately, we've had plenty of extra enjoyment from the decorations. But thanks to her efforts on Sunday (Jan 28), now it looks like we'll be able to get the tree out of sight before Valentine's Day.

There should be a service that would come in and take the tree -- without removing any decorations -- off to storage, and bring it back the next year. That would solve the decorating effort, the undecorating effort, and the storage problem (remember, we have no basement).

At least we had a pleasant Sunday evening, discussed here.

Rembrandts visit Phoenix

Patricia and I are members of the Phoenix Art Museum for 2007. First time we've tried this. The museum just completed a major group of facility improvements and the place looks great.

Anyway, a few years ago the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam announced plans to undergo a renovation, and the director of the Phoenix Art Museum immediately called over and asked if PAM could exhibit some of their things while in storage. Two other U.S. museums also were chosen, so this show is pretty exclusive to Phoenix.

It so happened that Patrick was in town during our scheduled trip to the exhibit, so he came along. We much enjoyed. The show included works by various Dutch masters of the Rembrandt era (17th century). The brochure features Rembrandt's late-in-life self-portrait as the apostle Paul. My favorite was the scene showing Peter's denial (see accompanying photo, as always click to enlarge). Among other neat features, check out how the candle illuminating Peter's troubled face is behind the hand of the servant girl asking about him. I wouldn't have seen it without the audio accompaniment at the museum, but Christ is over Peter's left shoulder giving him a look.

Anyway, the exhibit gave an overview of Dutch town life shortly after independence from Spain and during a period of major prosperity. I'm a sucker to buy books of things I see, as you can see in the bottom photo. The book is a great way to recall the images, but it is amazing (though not surprising) how much larger and more vibrant the works are when seen in person.

We next drove downtown to Arizona Center and sat outside for lunch at Sam's Cafe on a glorious Arizona afternoon. Quite fun.

At night we taught Patrick pinochle. He caught on too quickly for our comfort factor.

Rembrandt is worth reading about, bio here.

Suns are at it, again

No doubt - the NBA is far and away the best sports league going. And here in Phoenix we get to watch the most entertaining team in the NBA.

The Suns have been on an East Coast swing into the major media markets - Washington DC and New York City for starters - and so are riding a publicity blitz with regular comparisons to Magic Johnson's Showtime Laker teams of the 1980s. It helps that they have the best record in the league and lead in every major offensive category.

I liked this photo from nytimes.com because it shows a standard scenario: 1) Steve Nash running the break; 2) two teammates filling the lanes in classic formation; 3) sorry defender trailing behind, but at least in a good viewing position for the upcoming dunk or three. I also like how they superimposed the statistics, and that they took the photo from an interesting angle.

I'm hugely entertained by all this. Here's an entertaining (if somewhat fawning) Bill Simmons article that gets into much more detail about what the Suns are up to this year.

Freezing

It's been ridiculously cold here. About a week ago, we had the hardest freeze in the Phoenix area since 1990. Many of our plants were damaged. Check out the browned-out hisbiscus and the whited-out fern. (Both should be fine though will need cutting back). Lots more of our plants look even worse, including the bougainveilla (or however that's spelled, I understand the plant is named for some French military guy).

Patricia had to work today (she had a crazy-busy week) so I was on my own. Made for a long Sunday. But I did sweep out the swimming pool and took care of some other noxious tasks. It actually snowed in the northern part of town (meaning there were a few crystals in the air) and in the higher elevations, including nice amounts on the Superstitions.

Here's an oddity. We've already had two left ankle injuries from playing basketball in the last couple weeks (discussed here and here). This week Patrick reports that he also messed up his left ankle playing basketball. I'm hoping for photographic confirm. This is getting creepy, and CPG -- as last man standing -- better watch out.

We saw our second good movie in a row over the weekend, discussed here.

Part 2 - Basketball can be injurious to your health

I thought he was kidding, but no.

Just yesterday I put my crutches into the closet for good (why I was using them is explained here). This afternoon Paul Jr. calls saying he rolled his left ankle playing basketball and had immediate severe swelling.

What's there to do? Only one answer: head back to Patricia's emergency department for an X-ray. The kid has a bad sprain and has now taken possession of my crutches (as you can see in top photo). So I got to meet a bunch more of Patricia's co-workers, and we were treated very well.

But something odd is going on here. We miss Patricia when she's at work, but seem to be going to ridiculous lengths to go visit her. Twice in 17 days. Whatever. After she got off her shift, she hung around with us and then we went to dinner at 8:45p at a place called Bahama Breeze. It was good, or we were just really hungry, or maybe both.

Paul Jr. will now get to experience the joys of hobbling around a college campus. Ugh.

(And how much fun is a phone with a camera? Who ever carries a camera separately?)