The countdown is under way

I leave town on Friday for 5-6 weeks so now that Thanksgiving is over and the Quarterly is at the printer it is time to get serious about packing and getting ready to leave. My lists have lists.... I have packing down pretty well land it usually doesn't take me much time. However, this time is a little different. The biggest challenge is deciding what clothes to take when the temperature will be ranging from mid-20's to mid-70's. I have finally decided to take a small suitcase with just heavy, winter clothes in it and clothes for 60's and 70's in the regular suitcase. I won't need the winter stuff for very many days - mostly traveling- unless the forecast is totally wrong. Items range from a heavy, cost to sandals for the beach.  And then there are items like taking a couple of paring knives because the ones in hotel mini-kitchens won't cut soft butter.  I'll be taking the usual computer, flash drives, paper files, cameras, etc.  So....thank goodness I am driving and will have plenty of room. I dug out my pepper spray and have it handy in the car. The car will get a "trip check" tomorrow. Christmas cards are addressed. Weather is looking food for the drive to Tucson - sunny and low to mid 50-s all the way.

This is the 5th straight day it has rained most of the day and the sun is hidden above grey clouds. I want some sun - even for a few hours will do!  It is days like this that make me wonder how I ever survived living in Oregon for 8 years when you could go for weeks in the winter and never see the sun. Supposedly this is the last day of rain and then the sun will come back tomorrow for a few hours before full sun on Wednesday.

I have really appreciated having my electric blanket on the bed these last few nights when it has been so cold and damp. There aren't too many things in life that beat crawling into a warm, heated bed. I then turn the blanket down to the lowest setting so it doesn't get too warm for me in the night. I'll miss it in the hotels on cold nights... 8-)

Thanksgiving 2015

This Thanksgiving was different for me - I cooked! It is not easy for my brother and sister-in-law to get out and go places for dinner due to the number of their birthdays and arthritis. Plus most of the kids have dinner with their families on Thanksgiving and usually Bill and Vida go to one of their houses. However, this year my niece, Vivian, and I decided to bring Thanksgiving to them. We took the food to their house and cooked it there. Vivian's husband and son joined us. I ordered a precooked turkey so we just had to heat it up. The biggest challenge for me was cooking chicken & noodles for Pat, Vivian's husband. He loves them and does not consider it a proper dinner if he doesn't have them. Well, I hate them! However, I dug out a copy of Vida's cookbook and fixed them following the recipe exactly as written. They were eaten so I guess they passed the test.

Top left: I don't think I have ever looked as domestic! Top right: Vivian is getting a lesson from Vida on fixing candied sweet potatoes. Bottom left: Bill carving the turkey. Bottom right: Thanksgiving Sangria that got Vivian and I through it all.

We had turkey, chicken & noodles, green beans, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry relish, candied sweet potatoes and hot rolls. Desert was a pumpkin pie, oatmeal pie and a spice cake. Bottom pic: Vivian and I with Bill and Vida after dinner.

It was a memorable day!

Back to Monday Misc

Walking in the cold: Before the weather changed last week, I was walking 1-2 miles once or twice a day and had been for several months. My knees were not bothering me and I was sleeping great. I don't mind walking in 45 degree temperature when it is sunny and there is no wind. But...last week the wind was brutal - strong and it felt like it was right out of the North Pole. Plus several days were overcast. So no walking.... By the end of the weeks,  my hurting knees would wake me up at night and I wasn't sleeping as good. I HATE a treadmill - I feel like a hamster in a cage, walking but going nowhere. I did 2 miles at the mall yesterday while I was there and last night no knee pain and slept great....   So....I may have to resort to the treadmill in the winter here whether I like it or not. I did find out that there are videos to watch when using a treadmill or cycling in a gym. The video is filmed by someone walking along a trail in Germany, through towns, etc and are for iPads. I'm checking them out as they might solve the issue of the boring treadmill. There is a good gym right here in the apartment complex with some treadmills that I used a couple of times in the summer when it was so hot.

New laptop: I cashed in 2 years worth of accumulated cash and got a new laptop recently. The old one was big, heavy and slow as molasses. It drove me crazy on the recent trip when it took forever to load pictures from the camera, do the blog, etc. I did not want to deal with that again on the upcoming trip. I love the new, lightweight, fast laptop with one exception. It came with Windows 10 so I have to learn a new operating system. ~!@#$%^&*(_+!!!!  I was just getting used to Windows 8 and now have to learn a new one.

Santa Claus in the Mall 2016: Yesterday while at the mall, I came around the corner and this is what I saw - a house made out of led lights:

You go on line and schedule a "Shrek Santa Adventure". At your appointment time, your party goes inside, takes a sleigh ride to where Santa is and get your picture taken. All for $35 - $75 depending on how many people in your group and how many pictures you want. I couldn't believe it! The house is beautiful and there is some animations with animals in windows, etc. But $35 to see Santa????? The line was pretty long.....

Odds and Ends

It is nice to have a rainy day today but it does get in the way of my daily walk....

Texas not California: I knew I was going to Tucson for 2 weeks early next month but couldn't quite decide where go go after that for 3-4 more weeks before coming back home. I decided to go the California route since there were some things I still want to do in LA that for some reason or another I haven't done while living there or the many times I have visited there. I want to go to the Getty Museum, Reagan Library and the Nixon Library plus a few more things. I worked on the trip for a couple of weeks and it just wasn't coming together.  I was going to stop by the Grand Canyon on my way home but decided that winter is not the best time to go there after looking at their average temperature for December and January. So....started looking at Texas and it clicked. My plans are to spend Christmas in San Antonio and New Years in Corpus Christi before working my way back home. Larry and I went to San Antonio for a couple of days and I have always wanted to go back. I have never been to Corpus Christi.  I have come up with more things to do that I have days to do it in. On my way home, I will take in the LBJ and Bush Presidential Libraries. I'm looking forward to the road trip!

Cataract surgery: I went to the eye doctor a couple of weeks ago and it is time..... He can't correct my glasses any more and they have gotten significantly worse the last year. So...I have it scheduled for Jan 25th.....

September Trip Book: I finally finished the book and had it printed today. It is the largest book I have done by 5 pages - coming in at 159 pages!!!!!  My stack of books keeps growing and they are probably my most treasured possessions because of the memories when I look at them.

4 years ago tomorrow: It was 4 years ago tomorrow, Nov 18th, when my world was turned upside down. That was the day that Larry went to the hospital with his left arm being numb and we found out later that evening that he had 8 tumors in the brain. I have learned that time does heal but it doesn't get rid of the sadness when those dates come around.

Pioneer Woman's Book Signing

What an experience! I picked up the tickets and books at the sponsoring book store the day before the event. Vivian and I had already decided that we were not going to wait around to have our books signed. Our ticket numbers were 916 & 917. They start with groups of ticket holders 1-50, then 51-100, etc so it would be a long evening while we waited.  Anyway, the event was held in the Unity Church on the Plaza.  We went down around 3 p.m. to get parking in their garage and get something to eat. After much discussion, we decided to eat at Tomfooleries which was across the street. It is an Irish Pub/sports bar that I had never been there before. Food was good and I would like to go back some Sunday for their brunch. The below raspberry mimosas were wonderful!

We got over to the church at 5 p.m. and was about the 20th person in line. There was one line for those who already had their tickets and another line for people who were Will Calling their tickets. Doors were to open at 6 and the talk was to start at 7. It was good that we got there when we did as the line was soon down the block and around the corner by the time the doors opened. The lady in line just before us, goes there to church and knows how to navigate the auditorium. So...she said "Go inside, go down the center aisle and look for me near the front." We did and she was down in front waving her arms at us. We had 3rd row seats, on the aisle, right in front of Ree Drummond and the owner of the book store that would be interviewing her.

Ree is just as warm and friendly in person as she is on her TV show. She answered questions about the show, cooking, life on the ranch, kids, etc with a lot of humor. She commented that the company that produces her show also does the Barefoot Contesa cooking show with Ina Garden. The company is from London and films several weeks of both shows while here.  As Ree said, with the Barefoot Contesa show, they are filming in the Hampton's so everything is accessible and there are lots of things to do.  With Pioneer Woman they are in Pawhuska, OK - out in the middle of nowhere. They wanted to do a show with the kids swimming in the river and Ree explained that there are copperhead snakes in the river so NO.

Take a look at those boots!  I'm curious as to how many pair of boots she has. On her show last week she wore 3 different pair.  She wears them all the time since I have seen her on other TV shows and she has her boots on.

Here is the crowd - a portion of the 1,255 that were at the book signing. Every seat was taken! It was a fun evening and sure was different than the book signings I went to in Tucson.....

A Royal Monday...

O.K., I have to write a little about the Royals after they won the World Series last night. I can't believe that I stayed up 2 nights until after midnight watching them play! I have learned more about baseball this season than I ever wanted to know. Partly because you cannot live in KC and not know what is happening with their Royals and also because my family is fanatic about the Royals. They are always a topic of conversation anywhere you go in KC. It reminds me of 1967 when the Chiefs won the Super Bowl - it is all the town talks about. California could fall into the ocean and it would get 1 minute on the local news while the other 29 would be about the Royals - even the weather forecast is slanted towards weather for a game, etc. The Royals this season have been a wonderful example for a manager in any business:

• They are all about the team - not one person. 
• They have proven that you don't have to be a superman (home runs) to win - they win it with 1-2 base hits. 
• A player is willing to sacrifice an out so his teammate can score a run. 
• There was never any doubt in their minds all year that they would win. 
• They set a goal, focused on it and worked towards it one game at a time. 
• Giving up or quitting was not in their thoughts. They always found a way to win. 
• They had fun doing it!
• They never forgot their fans. 

Here are some pictures of KC landmark buildings lit up in Royal Blue during the play-offs.

Kauffman Performing Arts Center

Downtown Marriott Hotel

Union Station

I will be heading out today to finally buy a Royals T-Shirt - finally......