Lots of Pictures

I've taken a lot of pictures over the last week. I've posted several of he more interesting ones, to the right and at the bottom of the blog page. Note: Wendy has finally arrived from China. I'll write a summary of the events and happenings during the week, when I post the next blog update. A visit to San Francisco is always an interesting outing and this trip certainly had its moments. Today, Nancy and I went to the Children's Theatre at B Street and afterwards we drove to Davis, California for lunch. More to come regarding recent outings...

Swirl Treat

On my return trip to Elk Grove, after staying overnight in San Francisco, I turned off at the Davis exit to have a special treat at Dave's son-in-law's new business - Swirl Yogurt. It's been open for a couple of months now, but this was my first opportunity to stop by and sample the product. I'm glad that I did. Very tasty! I had the green tea flavored yogurt and it was tart - but not too tart - with a delicious texture and a great green tea aroma. I would definitely order it again, but I would probably add some toppings the next time. Oh, and I'll have a large cup on my next visit. The small one is just a teaser. Swirl - the healthy dessert!

Where's The Beef?

As you can see from the picture to the right and at the bottom of the blog page, there is no lack of tri-tip beef in a Buckhorn "Big Buck". That's what I had for dinner tonight, while visiting the city a hundred miles down the road from Elk Grove - home of the Golden Gate Bridge - San Francisco. So far, my stay has been pleasant. I saw U2 in concert - on the Metreon IMAX screen. I'm not a big fan of Bono and his band. The concert was filmed in Argentina and overall I guess it was alright. The main theme is peace and understanding - all around the world (oh, and don't' forget to buy some U2 tickets along the way - so you don't forget the message). I'm really looking forward to seeing a different concert, also filmed in IMAX - The Rolling Stones (Shine a Light) - it should be much better.

A little earlier I took a shot of the San Francisco skyline - at dusk. It was taken near the Sony Metreon, which happens to be a rather lifeless building right now, after several years of trying to find its identity. What's left is a three story complex that contains a rather meager food court and a few movie theatres. It started off with a somewhat grandiose vision, but Sony has failed miserably in its attempt to capture the public's attention. I wonder how Sony plans to fix the problem? They are going to need to do a complete makeover - and start from scratch - in my opinion.

Garage Floor

The garage floor project is now completed. It will take a few days to totally dry. Nancy and I prepped the floor last night, so that our grandson, Kenneth, could do the acid wash and roll the epoxy paint (with sprinkles) today. We did not do an excessive amount of prepping, as the floor is almost twenty years old and it has several deep cracks and a few oil spots. However, we did the basic cleaning, as suggested in the instructions and I'm satisfied with the outcome.

I'm off to San Francisco tomorrow and Nancy, Kelly, Kristie and baby Brandon are headed to Reading at about the same time. We'll all be back home by Wednesday and the floor should be dry enough by then to start putting things back in the garage. We're definitely getting rid of our garage junk this time - if we can figure out exactly what qualifies as "junk".

You can see the project pictures, to the right and at the bottom of the blog page.

March Madness

I started watching the NCAA tournaments today. Kentucky got ousted early - so I guess Louisville will have to uphold the state tradition, if we are to get a team from Kentucky to the final four (I'm not sure about Western Kentucky's status). Getting one of our teams into the final four is still possible, but the odds are long.

This weekend we intend to prep and paint the concrete floor in the garage. The project is overdue. It's a good time to do that particular project, as we will be away for a few days next week and the floor will need to be thoroughly dry before we can park the cars in the garage. I don't like to leave our cars sitting in the driveway, or on the street, for long periods of time. I plan to venture down to the Bay area on Monday, for a picture taking session, and Nancy will be making a jaunt to the north (driving to Red Bluff and Reading) with Kelly, Kristie and baby Brandon, to visit a friend of Kelly's. The short trips should be a lot of fun and upon returning we hope to have a nice cleanly painted and completely dry garage floor - if all goes as planned. I'll post some pictures, after we complete the project.

Good Burgers

The mural, to the right and at the bottom of the blog page, is painted on the interior wall of a restaurant that Nancy and I visited over the weekend. Nation-Wide Sandwiches has been around for over forty years, but for some reason we just never made it to the restaurant's midtown location. It's noted for serving exceptional hamburgers and steak house fries. I won't go so far as to say that it was the best burger that I have ever eaten, but it certainly ranks very high on my list of great burgers.

Nation-Wide keeps the menu simple. The menu consist mainly of burgers (with french buns), fries, shakes and a few deli sandwiches. We enjoyed our meal and plan to return, before too long. On occasion we enjoy going out for a good burger and fries. We noticed another burger place while driving to Nation-Wide and we'll probably have to try that restaurant at some point also. It's always a fun venture to go searching for the perfect burger!

RT Update

You can see a picture of the "RT", to the right and at the bottom of the blog page. I've taken out a loan for the needed repairs - using our house as equity. I hope it will be enough. The loan officer said we should be able to pay it off in less than thirty years, if we make an extra payment a month. I've got to check with Nancy, regarding the nice man's suggestion, to see if we can afford it. Still no word from Dave. I tried to call, but his number is no longer listed. Something seems odd about this "Beales Deal".

Dave's New Car

Dave Beales bought a new car today - a 2008 Subaru Impreza. It's a neat looking hatchback model with factory navigation and all wheel drive. A nice combination. Dave will still probably get lost a lot, but at least he will now be able to find his way back home. Dave graciously let me drive his new vehicle and I can attest that my experience was very gratifying and the road trip brought out the positive aspects of this vehicle. Consumer Reports gives the new Impreza high marks. You can see a picture of Dave's new car - to the right and at the bottom of the blog page.

There was an unusual twist to the deal. I only mention the following, to forewarn others. Nancy and I are now the proud (is that even the right word??) owners of the RT (code for Rattle Trap). Yes, we bought Dave's ancient Honda Civic. He convinced us after saying something about..."Who needs a Lexus, when you can drive around in a gas sipping RT with only 159,000 miles on the odometer". There was something about the way he said it, at least at the time, that really made sense. It took a couple of hours for 'Buyer's Remorse' to set in - of course Dave was long gone by then - and to add to all of that, Nancy just had to remind me that the clutch in the RT is inoperable and the car still has to pass a smog check. I guess we can tow it to the smog service station... if need be. Is this another "Beales Deal", I ask myself? When will I learn? Oh well, we still have the Buick LaCrosse to fall back on, I suppose... unless Dave decides to talk me into another "Beales Deal". I may have to move to another state, to avoid all of this abuse. Too bad the housing market is in such bad shape. Guess that I'm stuck with the clutchless RT. I'll write more on this matter later, after I take another one of my ulcer pills.

Kings Game

The Sacramento Kings played a good game against the Los Angeles Lakers tonight. In the early days, when the owners first moved to Sacramento, we use to have season tickets to the games, but after a few seasons, we lost interest in driving all the way out to Arco Arena, just to see our team lose. Now Nancy and I watch most of the games on television. The team is back to losing, after a few seasons in the playoffs, so an effort like the one tonight, against the hated rival - the Lakers - is appreciated. It won’t look like much in the win/loss column, but it provides a little hope for die hard fans, who have supported the team throughout the lean years.
The Kings have a few young players who may form the nucleus of a championship team - at some point in time. With a good draft pick, and a couple of strategic trades, we just might be back in the thick of it again. I hope so. It’s lot more fun to watch when you have a competitive group of players, who give it their all each game. Unforunately, the rest of this year is pretty much a lost cause, at least when it comes to making the playoffs. But... like they say - maybe next year!!

Movie Updates

Of the movies that I’ve recently seen, while doing my treadmill routine, there are a few that stand out above the rest. American Gangster is, of course, not up to The Godfather standard for it’s genre, but it comes close. I can understand how it was nominated for Academy Awards, and if you like the genre, you won’t be disappointed when viewing this film.
Jane Austen Book Club is from an entirely different genre - and it also has a lot to offer. Male viewers will need to enable the affective side of their brain, to relate - and that may just prove to be a very challenging endeavor when viewing some of the scenes in the movie. Lots of “girl stuff” in this movie. Nancy and I did enjoy watching it together and it almost made be want to read a Jane Austen novel. Maybe later….
“Interview” is another good movie, with a very strong script written for the lead female actress. Unfortunately, the name of the actress slips my memory at the moment, but she is very good. The movie has some unpredictable happenings along the way, coupled with lots of game playing between the interviewer and the interviewee. It’s a real cat and mouse kind of scenario.
That’s this week’s movie update. Let me know your opinion, pro or con, if you see one of the above movies.

Looking for Small Vases

I’ve started purchasing a few of the nine vases that I will need to fill the small vase box which I added to the master bedroom wall some time back. My budget for this project is small, so I don’t want to spend more than five dollars per vase. As you can see from the blog picture, I currently have a total of three vases - so six more to go. It’s been a little difficult to find what I want, in the price range that I’m willing to pay. Big Lots had several small vases, but they were slightly too large for the vase box that I’m using for my display. I found a vase at the Elk Grove Ross store that works and I plan to try Pier 1 in Laguna the next time I go searching for more vases. Tuesday Morning is another store I intend to check out as well.
It’s been fun looking in the different stores for the small vases. I’ve also searched online, but aside from eBay type sites, I haven’t seen anything very suitable for my purpose. For this type of a purchase, it’s actually more fun to wade through the clearance items where little vases, like the ones I’m looking for, tend to get stuck. You just never know when you might find a real jewel next to all that junk the stores like to stash way in the back - and away from all of the really good expensive stuff.

Fiday Night at the Movies

Our Friday Night at the Movies gang, minus Mr. Henry on this occasion, enjoyed watching the Science-Fiction movie “Primer” last night. Shot on a shoestring budget, it still managed to deliver a Hollywood blockbuster script - and then some. It’s one of those movies that leaves you scratching your head and yearning to chat with someone about what you just saw - or perhaps thought you saw. If you like time travel sci-fi type flicks, along with lots of thought provoking scenes and virtually no computer generated graphic illustrations, then you should enjoy the rather short seventy-seven minutes allotted to “Primer”. We're still discussing the movie, some twenty four hours after having viewed it.