Outing to Benihana

This evening Tom and I went to Benihana - for our every other week outing to one of our favorite eating places. As usual the food was very good. This time we actually had our own chef, as there was no one else seated in our area. The chefs at "Bennys" prepare your food right in front of you; cooked on a 450 degree grill that sizzles with terrific smelling seasonings used to cook veggies, shrimp, chicken and steak to perfection. Martinez did a great job cooking tonight and Rose kept and attentive eye on our beverages during the entire meal.

There was a birthday party going on directly across from our table and Rose was doing some special preparations for the event. She mentioned that she was decorating some plates for the occasion and we asked to see her work. As you can see from the attached picture (right side of page), she is quite the artist. There is always a lot of creativity going on at the Citrus Heights Benihana and that is why it is one of our favorites. We'll be back Rose - in a couple of weeks.

Little Brandon's First Cake

Nancy talked with Kristi a couple of times today. Kristi will be leaving the hospital later this evening. She and the baby are well. Nancy will do a return visit to Fairfield tomorrow, so she'll get to see how little Brandon does at home. Kristi and big Brandon are going to be out some big bucks when it comes time to buy shoes for this kid. He's got big feet! No size eights for him. He'll grow into size twelves in nothing flat. Nancy says he is a handsome baby and he's already showing signs of being real smart. When I saw his picture, I thought he looked kind of hungry. So, I made him a cake. Nancy will take it with her tomorrow when she goes to Fairfield. Technically, I guess you could say that I've made him his first birthday cake. How about that! It's a good looking cake too - just take a look at the attached picture (bottom of page).

Baby Brandon Makes His Debut!

We got a call from Kelly this morning saying that our granddaughter, Kristi, had just arrived at North Bay Hospital in Fairfield, California - to have her baby. Nancy wanted to be there when the baby was born, so she immediately left for the hospital. At 8:21 pm Kristi gave birth to an eight pound twelve ounce baby boy. His name is Brandon Kevin David Brookshire. All is well for both baby and mother. Nancy is excited about her first great grandchild. She will enjoy helping Kristi with the baby. Welcome to the world, Brandon!

I've posted a couple of pictures of Brandon on the blog. A slide show will be added later, after I edit the pictures that Nancy took while she was at the hospital today.

Louisville Takes Second Place in The Big East and The Lost Tomb Airs on the Discovery Channel

I suppose for some of the readers of this blog the title headings may seem sequentially out of order - at least regarding their importance as to what really matters in "life". However, I imagine that some readers might actually feel that the sequencing is just fine and perhaps even appropriate. Actually, I did it that way deliberately, so as to maybe stir up a little discussion on the two topics.

So far, at least in my small circle of friends, the showing of The Lost Tomb hasn't generated much meaningful conversation. At least the conversations that I have had prior to the actual airing this Sunday were more "casual" in nature then anything else. No one's core beliefs about the essence of life has seemed to change. Now that it has aired, maybe that will change? But, maybe not? If topics dealing with science and religion are no longer of interest to most people, then what has replaced these topics that contribute so greatly to our very definition of "life"? As for me, just call me "old school" - because I remain insatiably interested in the topics of science, religion and, of course, politics - oh, and basketball as well. So if you happen to read this, let me know what you thought of "The Lost Tomb". I'd like to hear your opinions. Oh, and also about that last Louisville win too.

As for Louisville and it's achievements on the basketball court this year. Here is my spin. It should be of some major importance to "Kentuckians" since it keeps the state of Kentucky in the forefront when speculating as to which NCAA team might have the right stuff to win a championship (not that it matters in the larger scheme of things, right). But many of us know how much basketball means to my "home" state - and to me as well. It would be nearly impossible to grow up in Kentucky and to not have some opinion about basketball. I guess I'm just a die hard fan of the sport. It's not something that I can ignore.

So there you have it. This constant dilemma of dealing with trivial matters and matters of great importance. And then there is also that continual pursuit to find a balance between the two. Got to love the game, though. It's what keeps things interesting!

I'm testing a way to add an occasional video or slide show to my blog.
The first link will take you to a video that I recently made using my mini Samsung camcorder. There is no sound for this video. I'll try adding a video that has sound later. Check it out!

http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w275/jimdaviselkgrove/?action=view&current=NancyinVallejoNoSound.flv

The below link will take you to a website where you can view a slide show of photos that were taken in San Francisco while on an outing with the "CES Boys". I'll update with a link to a newer slide show very soon. This one goes back about a year and a half ago. So... a new one will be forthcoming.

http://travel.webshots.com/album/480151077HzgiWk

B Street Theater Outing

This evening we went to the B Street with several friends. We do this about every other month and afterwards the group goes out to dinner. Tonight's play was exceptionally good - "The Cocktail Hour". It will be interesting to see how the critics view this play. Everyone in our group was impressed with the quality of the script and the cast did a superb job of portraying the characters. The play originated in New York and had it's world debut in San Diego (at the Old Globe Theater). Very enjoyable theater and a fun time catching up on happenings with our friends.

After the theater we went to one of our favorite restaurants - Sae Jong. As usual, the food was terrific and the service outstanding. The staff at Sae Jong seems to make a special effort to please everyone when we visit. They serve Korean food and the prices are quite low for the portions and the quality. However, they do not have an extensive dessert menu. Nancy and I like to have dessert after our meal and we decided that tonight we would venture over to Leatherby's Ice Cream Parlor for our dessert. Most members of the group were rather tired and ready for bed. But Katherine and Terry were up to the challenge and so the four of us headed over to Leatherby's to savor our treat. We had some very tasty ice cream sodas and sundaes. Leatherby's is a family owned ice cream parlor that serves extra large portions and rich creamy ice cream. Just the way I like it! A great outing! Take a look at the attached pictures for a visual representation of our Saturday night out.

Awoke early this morning and did a few routine tasks around the house. Bob called in the am and we talked for over an hour - using Skype. His cordless handheld Panasonic Skype phone was loud and clear. Later in the morning Tom called and provided an interesting update on yesterday's trip to San Francisco. Tom said that he would soon have some pictures to share from the trip. Should be interesting.

Tonight I finished the "oldies" Cd. There are twenty four songs on the play list. It's an iTunes disc, with songs that I have purchased over the last couple of weeks. The label looks pretty cool - a picture of a hot rod car which had stopped at a gas station. The station is one from the fifties, so the scene has an "oldies" look to it. Nancy and I plan on listening to the Cd on our way to the B Street Theater tomorrow. We have a group of eight going to the play and then out to dinner afterwards. It should be fun.

Maintaining Good Health and Debugging The Brain

Spent part of the morning getting my every other year physical at Kaiser. I've pretty much kept up with my "scheduled maintenance" - so, exam wise, everything was in the normal range. I do the labs on Monday. You have to fast prior to the lab work. I won't be able to eat anything for twelve hours after dinner on Sunday.

This afternoon I started a new "oldies" Cd. I say new, because I already have several oldies Cd's. I plan to put around thirty songs together for this disc. So far, I have fourteen songs in the play list. I heard Gene Vincent on XM (the 50's) today and decided that I needed to include a couple of his songs on the CD. One song of his that I really like is titled "Wear My Ring". After I finish the disc, I'll make a label for it. I'm not sure of how I want the label to look just yet. I'll check some art work on Google, before deciding.

Tonight I prepared the frames to hang in the master bedroom. Tomorrow I will see if I can find the prints that I want to use. It's difficult to narrow down the prints. I want something that will stay appealing over a long period of time. I guess I'll know when I see it.

Before going to bed I'm going to try and finish an article that I started reading earlier in Wired magazine. It's about a man that had electrodes planted in his brain to slow the progress of Parkinson's disease. They basically rewired his brain. The neurosurgery is amazing and almost beyond belief. Deep brain stimulation is being used to combat abnormal neural activity. It's in the infancy stages, but it appears that it can help really improve the quality of life for those afflicted with a brain disorder. Amazing science!

My brain is tired and I need to rejuvenate - so time to close for today.

Tim, thanks for the comments about your pets. I bet their glad that you can just let them be (just like Wiggy and Eddy). You are a good canine care taker.