Bluebonnet Season Is In Full Swing

It's bluebonnet time in Texas again; they're carpeting the fields and roadways, but I found this little guy all by himself.

The 2016 DFW Auto Show

Photos from the March 17th auto show at the Dallas Convention Center.

That's me: good ol' 003888

Catching Up

Just catching up on some March items I've been meaning to post.

First there was the storm earlier this month.  Luckily we avoided the hail, but it was still pretty bad - one of those where the sky turns a dark, sickening green color.

(For some reason I can't post the video; here's the link until I can figure out why):  https://youtu.be/TjmLIO7aVHQ
(Update:  got it to work below)


But as a trade-off, the trees are blooming:

These trees are green with leaves now

Get Ready For A Bunch Of Cat Photos, II

We had our cat KT put to sleep this week after a fairly rapid decline due to kitty cancer - she had an inoperable tumor that was putting pressure on her pancreas and slowly squeezing her intestine closed, causing her to vomit, lose weight, and not want to eat or drink.  She was a good cat and we miss her already.

First day home from the animal shelter; getting over an infection on the nose.

Adventures in Bread Making/Baking

So, there's this thing called bread that you can make at home a lot cheaper and healthier and better-tasting than you can buy in the store.  Have you heard about this?  ;)

Seriously though, I made bread today by hand for the first time ever and it came out great.  It just takes a little time (mostly waiting while it rises), but it was super easy and the results are worth it!

One for the freezer and one for my belly

Now that's a sandwich!

Went For A Walk

But the trail is still closed due to flooding.  Some early spring rain has kept the water level up.

It's hard to see here, but there's another barricade a little further down the path; they really don't want you going through there.

Water levels are still high, and the water has a fast current.

Happy Valentine's Day

To commemorate, I've searched through my photos for something appropriate:

Driving through Valentine National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska, on our 2013 South Dakota road trip

Monday

Finishing this up today since I fell asleep yesterday while writing it. 

Woke up at 5am after a frustrating dream about moving into an (already run down) apartment and discovering the previous tenants had left all of their stuff behind. Not just furniture, but the closets were full of clothes and the kitchen cabinets packed solid with all sorts of Tupperware and storage containers. I was furious with the dream apartment manager who was trying to brush me off so he could go to dinner. I gave him a severe dressing-down as I pounded my fist on the table for emphasis.

After waking up and cooling down a little, I lay in bed watching This Must Be The Place on the iPad.  What a great movie with Sean Penn and Frances McDormand.

Had an exhausting day at work, then stopped by the store on the way home for dinner fixins'.  Turned this:

Into a yummy fried rice:

Got to try out the new knife and sauté pan I got for Christmas, as well as a bottle of Pinot Grigio I received - loved all three.

Happy New Year!

Todd's sick and I'm exhausted, so saving the champagne for another day. For tonight I'll just stick with this Crispin pear cider.  It's delicious. 

Happy New a Year everybody!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you and your family a very merry Christmas.

A Currier and Ives Christmas greeting

Busy Sunday

Put in 4 hours at the office,

It helps that it's a winter wonderland - thanks to Kylee!

Movie Day At Home

I made a big batch of homemade Texas Trash (spicy chex mix; recipe below) and we just let whatever came on tv flow through us:  Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, St. Vincent, It's a Wonderful Life, and Hedwig and the Angry Inch. It was a good day. 

Texas Trash

6 cups corn Chex

6 cups rice Chex

4 cups wheat Chex

3 cups pretzel sticks (preferably broken in half, but not necessary)

2 1/2 cups peanuts

2 cups Cheerios

3/4 cup butter - melted

5 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon seasoned salt

1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 - 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (to taste)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Combine cereal, pretzels and peanuts in a large roasting pan.

Melt the butter, then add the spices to the butter. Mix well.

Drizzle the butter mixture over the dry ingredients, then toss to coat evenly - best if done by hand.

Bake for 1 hour, stirring thoroughly every 15 minutes. Enjoy while it's warm if you like, but allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.  Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving

Saturday At The Forth Worth Auto Show

What I'm Currently Listening To

Wow, what a great album:

Laidback Luke - Focus

Lightning Cloud

Looks ominous

The storm passed us by, but gave a show as it went:

L.A. Trip - Day 9: Going Home

Woke up, checked out, dropped the car off, flew home.

Goodbye Los Angeles

L.A. Trip - Day 8: E.T. And The L.A. Philharmonic At The Hollywood Bowl

Just like everything else in L.A., there's extremely limited parking for the Hollywood Bowl.  So we headed back to Hollywood & Highland again to catch a shuttle - for $6 each round trip, it was definitely the way to go (because parking at the Bowl was a nightmare).  We got parked and it took us a minute to find the shuttle pick-up area.  When we did find it there was already a shuttle bus waiting which quickly filled.

This is the scene outside the Bowl.  Yes, that is someone just getting out of the car in the middle of the intersection as two officers "direct" traffic.

L.A. Trip - Day 8: Coco's and Venice Beach

I got up at 6:30am, and Todd finally got up at 10:30.  We got going around noon and drove to Coco's Bakery, a chain restaurant sort of like Denny's that someone had recommended to Todd because of their pies.  I had a turkey burger (which was actually really good) with fries, and for dessert I had coconut cream pie and decaf coffee.  The pie was also good, but then so is almost all pie.

Just driving down the road and, oh look, there's a movie studio.

The food was good, but I'm not sure I would go out of the way (again) for it

L.A. Trip - Day 7

It's Thursday and today we leave the Disneyland Resort and drive back to L.A.

I woke up at 6:30 and read/surfed on the iPad until 8:30 or so, then showered and dressed.  I headed out at 9am while Todd slept.  I walked around the hotel and through some of the shops at Downtown Disney, but didn't buy anything; was just killing time.

I spy a hidden gazebo

I'm guessing they hold weddings at this one

L.A. Trip - Day 6: Disney California Adventure, P.M.

Ok, this is a long post with lots of photos.

After lunch we went back to Cars Land and used our FastPasses for Radiator Springs Racers.  We also took our time and looked around a bit.

The detail is incredible.

Blue is in the lead

L.A. Trip - Day 6: Disney California Adventure, A.M.

Woke up this morning at 5:30am.  Apparently it doesn't seem to matter what time I go to bed or how tired I am; I'm waking up early.  I went back to sleep from 6:00 to 6:30, then got out of bed at 7:00.

Morning view

L.A. Trip - Day 5: Disneyland, P.M., Part 2

Since the Haunted Mansion was closed and we were near a train station, we decided to ride the train all the way around the park - not something we would have done had the park been crowded.  It was great though - we got to relax and see the Grand Canyon diorama and Primeval World; two displays that don't exist at Walt Disney World.

The French Market across from the depot.  We'll come back here.

L.A. Trip - Day 5: Disneyland, P.M., Part 1

After lunch we headed over to Adventureland and the Enchanted Tiki Room.

Adventure awaits!

All the birds sing words and the flowers croon in the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room

L.A. Trip - Day 5: Disneyland, A.M.

Welcome to "The Happiest Place on Earth."  It's going to be a great day!