Touching Base

wine, wine and more wine

So, we ate dinner at Zephyr’s in Livermore tonight and hung out with my Godparents.  It was a great dinner except our waiter absolutely sucked.  Why work in a place that glamorizes wine and not know a thing about it?  Plus, why would you state that you don’t know anything about wine?  At that point, we all wanted another waiter. 

To make a long story short, the wine we brought was good (Sterling Cabernet- Reserve 1999), the wine that we ordered additionally Groth Cabernet 2001 and some port really made the meal taste great.  We had 40 year old Port.  It helped savor my delectable dessert with sauce.  It’s all about the sauce:)

 

Jared is engaged

So, Jason and I could not attend Jared’s engagement party.  We were bummed.  Jason was on call and I did not want to go without my husband.  Plus, there was still so much prep work to do on the kitchen.  That is all I hear, the kitchen, the kitchen, the kitchen.  UGH!

We really wanted to go and to see his parents.  It wasn’t in the cards to leave town that night.

everything is bigger in Texas

Spiders, grasshoppers, crickets, locust, frogs, hornets, yellow jackets and wasps, even the cows.

 First, I thought this spider was a halloween decoration.  I was mortified to find out it was real.

The grasshoppers, crickets and locust- OH MY.  While riding my Aunt and Uncles’ quads out at their Ranch.  There were grasshoppers, cricket’s and locusts flying up as you drove on the road and if I didn’t get my mouth shut, I would have had a mouthful every 100 yards. 

The Frogs are big in this watering well, making all sorts of noises and being totally content in this watering hole.

I hate bees.  So, there were all sorts of wasps, hornets and yellow jackets flying around.  Come one, I am at an undeveloped ranch that has some running water, a pond and lots of tall grass.  I had to check every eave, watch where I walked (occasional rattle snake might be hiding- LUCKILY I NEVER SAW ONE). whew:)  Nothing worst then something that will sting you continuously without dying.  At least, I didn’t get stung.  another whew

Even the cows seemed bigger.  Maybe because I have never been standing less than 10 feet from a cow or even the occasional bull.

muggy and off to another City…… Burleson, Tx

I hate to say it, but I was not fond of Dallas only this fun little area called McKinley.  Fun shops, good food, happy hour galore.  Dallas was muggy and I am not fond of muggy weather.  It was sticky hot and humid- yuck

Well, it’s time we are off to visit one of my husband’s cousin’s which he has not seen for over 5 years.  Burleson, he we come.  Hopefully we can get something to eat first, I am starving.

peanuts, peanuts, and more peanuts

Logan’s Roadhouse is this fun BBQ place in the city of Burleson, TX.  You walk in and there is this huge oak barrel full of Peanuts in shells.  The floor is covered with the shells and instantly, I knew that this place would be low key and fun.  It was.  The BBQ pork ribs was falling off the bone, the waitress was really fun and spunky, the mac and cheese was super rich, smooth and creamy with cheese oozing all over the place, my baked potato was large and full of bacon, sour cream and goodness.  It was my first time very drinking sweet tea, it’s a lot better than lipton where you add your own sugar afterwards. 

It’s funny to watch people eat their peanuts while waiting for their food and then drop the shells on the floor.  Hearing the crunch under your feet is a little strange while dining in restaurant but that is the appeal of this place.

The Dallas’ are in Dallas

We flew in yesterday, got checked into the hotel. Went to a Texas Ranger game with Jason’s friend Kevin. Live games are always more fun to watch then sitting in front of the TV. I got to enjoy some nachos, soda for a buck. Time to do some site seeing this morning. Internet for 24 hours, pillow top beds, 14th floor views, good food. It doesn’t get any better than this. Plus we will be off for one week. woo hoo

My only question for our first official day of vacation.

WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING UP AT 7 AM. I SHOULD BE SLEEPING IN BUT I WENT TO BED EARLY- AROUND 11 PM.

I need to sleep more during this vacation (note to self).

it’s like camping

having our kitchen function out in the sun patio is kind of camping. It’s all over the place. We have a functing refrig, cooktop with BBQ, countertop for prepping, microwave, griddle and toaster oven. We are missing a large oven but the toaster oven works for small menu items. It’s kind of fun but when you are in a rush to get out the door like today and you want a small item to eat really fast, it’s merely impossible.
We have to get out the door by 9:30 am so we can catch our flight out of Oakland at 11:45 am. The GC just left to inspect all cabinets and materials that arrived yesterday. The painter came last night to mud, tape and texture the dining room ceiling where we removed the acoustic ceiling (popcorn) and he textured the dining room walls and the kitchen ceiling and walls. So much to do.
With a mind set of “it’s like camping”, cooking in the patio room is functionable and I have to keep that in mind.

up up and away

Vinyl flooring
kitchen countertops
kitchen cabinets
wallpaper
wood trim
acoustic ceiling

All these items have been removed from our kitchen. It’s a barren site.

Up up and away…….

didn’t know

I didn’t know that Bruce and his wife Su bought a house near the Franchise Tax Board in Sacramento in early March. I got to see his house yesterday. As I was driving to his house, I turned down a street and realized that he lives diagonal from my friend Robert. I called Robert to tell him that Bruce lives diagonal and he stated that he knew. I asked Robert why he hasn’t paid a visit and he stated that Bruce is so busy working putting up a fence, building something that he is always so busy. I can see that!
Well, speaking of “busy”, Bruce and Su have been getting “busy”. In fact, Su is pregnant. Congratulations Bruce, you will be a Dad soon. They just found out this past week. They have this good sized starter house, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths (like my house). I can’t believe the home prices in Sacramento are approx $400K less than the Bay Area, that is insane. My home was built in 1962 and his was built in 1978. That is such a huge difference.
His wife is very handy, she laid down a side pathway with her Mom made out of bricks in this nice pattern. Su had also laid down some slate on the back patio and Bruce will seal it up when she is complete. They have laid this concrete slab in the backyard that needs to settle for their hot tub that they got used for $200 bucks, and it totally works. Bruce made this amazing fence with a massive lock on his front yard that adds some privacy to their front yard. They have a garden in the front yard with tomatos galore. The backyward has green bell peppers, lots of Thai peppers, Jalapeno peppers, and I can’t remember what else.
They still plan on doing so much more like moving walls, making the master bedroom bigger, making the kitchen bigger, adding double pane vinyl windows, adding doors and taking out windows. I told them to look into the company that Jason and I invested in- Direct Buy. I told him the upfront cost was expensive but we have made the difference two-fold since we bought our cabinets. With all the work that they will be doing on their home, it’s definitely an option to look into.
Good for them, new house, new life, and a new baby soon.

not seen since college

My friend Juli and I visited with my friend Chris whom we haven’t seen since graduation. This whole time since Spring of 2003, he has been lingering/loitering around the Sacramento/Carmichael area and I have not heard a peep from him. It’s like he fell off the face of the earth. My friend Juli ran into him at a club in Citrus Heights called Aqua and got his business card with phone numbers. Since then I have spoken to him on several occassions, getting back into the know. So, we finally set a date to meet. It was earlier today. We met at Mandango’s in Sacramento off Fulton & Hurley to watch some football (him not I), eat, and catch up.
Mandango’s was absolutely packed. All these loud men in their jersey’s and one obnoxious loud chick, sitting by herself, drinking her cola and clapping profusely, loudly and cheering at the top of her lungs.
Juli munched on the Dango Dip (a French dip), then Chris chowed on a big, juicy, greasy burger with carmelized onions and sauce. you can’t forget the sauce:) I had a succulent tomato tuscan crab bisque soup with a warm spinach salad with prawns. The bisque was spicy and was lumpy from all the crab meat. It was good but I was craving a more brothy traditional bisque soup. Intense with flavor, not much heat and just being able to savor the decadent crab flavor. That is what a bisque is all about. My favorite is a lobster bisque but that was not on the menu. I had forgotten all the good food over at Mandango’s. I had gone several times over to this place on many Ski Club events and hanging out with my friends such as Marianne Fouchard, Eric Hoffman, Stephen Studyvin, I think my friend Szabo and possibly Juli had also joined me a several times or two.
Chris was going to try to use his bar bucks to pay for lunch but I ended up treating him to lunch. I told him the next time we go out, he’s treating.
It was great to see him, he hasn’t changed much. He said that he needs to work out. Doesn’t everybody. I told him that there is a slim chance he would get back the body he had in college unless he did the fitness 90 or he has bowflex or the ultimate gym. He just laughed. I miss his laugh. It’s addictive and you can’t help but smile.
We were suppose to try to see Joe Rodda at his work but our eating and chatting ran to the end of the 1st games and he wanted to be home to watch the Kansas City Chiefs game on his new plasma TV. So, the day was cut short. He went home to his place in Carmichael, Juli went home to Citrus heights and I went over to see my friend Bruce which I haven’t seen since Christmas. Our paths have not crossed, I have extended invites but we have both been busy with “home” life.