Tom and Wendy's Wedding Reception

I've posted a couple pictures that I took at Tom and Wendy's wedding reception. Nancy and I met several interesting people while attending the reception. Tom and Wendy put a lot of effort into making sure that everyone had an enjoyable experience. The cupcakes (see picture) were notable for their size and weight - very filling and very tasty. We each received gifts, individually wrapped, upon departure from the reception. Music was provided by a colleague of Tom's. Her harp playing added just the right touch, without being overpowering while conversing. All and all, a very nice reception.

Tom and Wendy are very happy to have found one another. We wish them the very best.

Ruth Chris - Morton's - Carver's???

Actually, it's none of the above. The picture to the right and at the bottom of the blog page shows our expertly prepared slow cooked medallions of beef. Nancy and I whipped up the vittles for our Friday night dinner. The slow cooker does a good job of roasting the Raley's Black Angus beef (a cross rib roast) so that it stays tender and flavorful and the potatoes and veggies are added near the end of the cooking cycle to keep their texture just right for serving. It's a fairly simple meal to prepare and if you are in the mood for beef, as we are on occasion, the results are as good as what they serve at the big name restaurants. Bon Appetite!

Catrike with Trailer

Tim, my friend who lives in Tampa, sent me a picture of some upgrades he has added to his recumbent trike. The Catrike, with a nifty trailer, looks very cool and it is capable of hauling pets, groceries and just about any small cargo that you might want to move. You know... this just might be the way to beat soaring gas prices. It is very innovative transportation.

Also, it is not a bare bones means of getting around. Tim has added certain conveniences that make for a more functional and comfortable ride. As Tim stated to me in a recent email:
"I now have a GPS holder, a bike computer, a bell, an air horn, two speakers to use with my Ipod, a motion alarm, two headlights, a taillight, and two saddle bags for the trike".

Knowing Tim, this won't be the last of the upgrades. Neat ride!!!

Visit to Portland, Oregon

Nancy and I just got back from Portland. Great trip! We went first class for our return flight on Southwest Airlines. Since we had an "A" boarding pass, and low numbers for entry, we were able to get seated in the exit row seats. That translates to generous legroom - and no middle seat. Great accommodations and a ten minute early arrival. Go Southwest!!! The best low fare airline in the business!

Our stay at the Embassy Suites was very relaxing, as well as very comfortable. The free breakfast is also a nice bonus (see picture of omelet station). This particular Embassy is about twenty miles from the airport, but it's convenient for going into town and for seeing the usual tourist sites.

We used our Garmin GPS extensively and it did a great job of getting us to our various destinations. On Friday we joined our friends from Salem, Oregon, Paul and Karen Lemmon, and they showed us some of the highlights of the city. We had a great dinner at the Ringside Steakhouse Restaurant. Prior to dinner, we visited the famous Powell Bookstore. A huge establishment that sells every book imaginable.

Friday evening we went to visit with Paul and Karen's daughter and her family. It was great to see their home and to have a chance to chat about life in Portland and Salem.

We lucked out with the weather. It was hot, but no rain. It was actually pretty comfortable, even though the temperature was in the nineties much of the time. Portland considers that to be a heat wave. Yeah, right! Compared to the heat we felt after landing in Sacramento, it was a very "mild" ninety degrees up in Oregon.

We achieved our goal of getting a better feel for one of our northern states and we will continue to explore other sites north of California when time permits. Seattle is on our list and Vancover is also a possibility.

It's now back to the treadmill and restricted calories - darn!! I was really enjoying the omelet breakfasts and the fancy dinner desserts. Time to get real, I guess. Check out the pictures to the right and at the bottom of the blog. I captured some good pics at the Japanese Gardens. I'll also be adding a movie to the blog later this week.

For Those Who Attended SHS

The below link has a wealth of information about good old Shawnee High School (yes, I did somehow manage to graduate from high school). For those of you who are SHS graduates, I think you will find this site to be of interest. Onward Shawnee!!!

http://www.shs54.kyintx.com/index.htm

Off to Portland

We'll be leaving for our visit to Portland, Oregon in a few hours. The weather looks favorable for the trip. It's going to be very hot in Sacramento while we are gone and the forecast for Portland is warm as well. We plan to visit the Japanese Gardens (where I hope to take some interesting pictures), Powell's Book Store and a couple of interesting restaurants for when we have our evening meals. We'll be staying at the Embassy Suites in Tigard. It's Oregon's fourth largest hotel, according to their web site. We will be linking up with our friends from Salem, Oregon on Friday. I've known Paul and Karen for nearly forty year. We first met when I was in the Air Force. It will be nice to see them again as we haven't seen one another for some time now.

I plan to post the Portland pictures soon after our return. I will miss seeing the Preakness (live) this year, but it looks like Big Brown ought to be able to move forward with his quest for a triple crown. Brown outclassed all of the Derby horses and I see no reason why he won't do the same in the Preakness.

Iron Man and Moo Moo Burgers

Dave, Richard and I went to see Iron Man at the Lodi Stadium 12 theater this week. Iron Man is deserving of it's big box office receipts. The computer generated scenes are outstanding and the storyline is not bad for a film of this genre. The three of us gave it multiple thumbs up.

After the movie we had sandwiches at the Moo Moo Burgerbarn. The restaurant is just around the corner from the theater - very convenient. The food was tasty and reasonably priced. Also, as you will note from the pictures - they have great salt and pepper shakers. By the way, the fries are quite different. They are sweet potato fries. Unique and delicious. The meal was a nice capstone to a fun Iron Man outing. Any idea where I might be able to get one of those Iron Man suits at a reasonable price???

Stuff Happens

Well, my Derby picks didn't pan out this year. I'm not alone though. Once Big Brown took charge, and showed the rest of the field that they were outclassed, several long shots had a real chance to be a distant second place finisher. I didn't see any picks from handicappers that matched the trifecta outcome. It was just one of those days. Big Brown showed the world that coming out of the gate from the twentieth position suited him just fine - and as they say, "the rest is history". So, now we await the Preakness - to find out if we have a super horse - and a definite triple crown candidate. Go Brown!!!

I've posted a few new pictures to the blog. One is of a special recumbent trike (sent to me via email from my friend Tim). It's a "way cool" trike. The other picture shows our current collection of Dr. Seuss stuffed animals. The furry beasts are for our great grandson. However, I may decide to keep them until he is around five years old. I think they look kind of neat on our couch. The last picture shows my new laptop (HP DV6775US). It was purchased from Office Depot. It's a display model, so it's a little rough around the edges, but there is nothing major wrong with it, except for the cosmetic blemishes that accrued from being used as a display model. I've got two weeks to decide if it's a keeper. So far - it's the best laptop I've ever used. I'll do an update about the HP laptop, in a future blog.

Kentucky Derby Picks

After some serious deliberation and thorough research, I've decided to go with Colonel John as my pick to win this year's Derby. For a show bet, Z Fortune should have pretty good odds and a decent shot to be in the money. He'll need to run his best, if he hopes to even take third place. However, with Big Brown coming out of the gate from slot number twenty, the race is now wide open for a long shot to be in the money. If the track is muddy, don't be surprised if Big Brown loses a shoe. So... five bucks on Colonel John to win, and/or ten dollars to show on Z Fortune - should enable a bettor to cash a ticket(s) tomorrow. Good luck!