I had a nice 3.5 mile run around the neighborhood tonight (with a soundtrack by Johnny Cash). There's something poetic (or cliche depending on your level of cynicism) about listening to Ring of Fire while running laps to a setting sun.
Speaking of cynicism, for those of you who argue that I never buy anything healthy from Costco, may I present my dinner for this evening:
It's my version of Croque-monsier, made from a rosemary-olive loaf, roast chicken, and Dubliner Irish cheese - all sourced from Costco. Unlike the French version, I toasted mine instead of frying the concoction in oil. The squash, btw, was a gift from Betsy.
And now, an open letter to Dustin: It looks like I won't be joining you on your cross-country tour. I wish I could, but I just don't have my act together. Reading your blog, however, it seems you have a good crew of riders already accompanying you. I feel rather aquamarine (sad and envious) about it. I'm sure you'll have a great rest of the trip and many cool stories to tell when you get back (and maybe a picture or two).
The following is for my brother-in-law, Joe. Happy Birthday!
My family came up to visit for the Memorial day weekend. Mostly, they came to shop and see friends, but we did manage to visit some also.
We had a nice dinner at TC Noodle House in the Chinatown Center Saturday night (I'm not sure why everyone is so pink in this picture - perhaps it's all the beta-Carotene in the air):
Sunday, Betsy and I rode the Spicewood Springs loop together before going to Ursula and Gregg's pool party:
And (pardon the lack of a better transitional device) here's a sampling of the food I've had recently:
Zocalo after Town Lake run with Betsy Saturday (the jicama salad was the best part):
Some dinners I made last week (beans from Betsy's garden, dumplings from my mom, and mac and cheese from a box):
And a post run meal earlier this week (there's a double cheeseburger hiding sheepishly in the bag):
Heard this version of Steady, As She Goes today by Corrine Bailey Rae and wanted to share:
Ron was in town this past weekend looking for romance. Well, maybe he was just hoping for a little rest and relaxation (the other "R" words). However, given the pace of his 24 hour visit, maybe he should have just settled for rapture.
We started off Saturday evening with an appearance at the Bell school house post-rapture/housewarming party. After a couple of beers, we headed to Sao Paulo's for some Brazilian food and caipirinhas.
Lulled into false comfort, Ron talked me into a final beer at the Broken Spoke. Citing a $12 need to dance, he even paid for my cover to get in.
Once inside, we stood around like a couple of wall flowers - it reminded me of junior high dances I suffered through (should I ask her to dance? what if she says no? how will I live with the shame? what if she has cooties?). Despite much prodding, Ron still refused to ask anyone to the dance floor. Sensing our reluctance, a woman finally approached us and asked if we were there to just stand around or were we there to dance. I confirmed the later and shoved Ron towards the inquisitor (she introduced herself as Marti). Needless to say, once Ron started two-stepping, he couldn't be stopped. In the end, he danced several dances with several women, and I even managed half a dance - Marti tried to teach me the standard quick-quick-slow-slow with limited success. Counting to four wasn't difficult, but keeping rhythm proved a little more challenging.
The next morning, Ron and I met Betsy at Town Lake for a quick 7 mile loop together. Afterward, we met Ron's nephew at Trudy's for brunch, then Ron ran off to Z-Tejas to meet a date for lunch (yes, he has dated every single woman in Houston and is now focused on Austin). He said the date went well - but I'm not sure how he's suppose to sustain a relationship with a woman who lives 150 miles away. I have a hard time dating women 15 miles away. I guess he's a romantic, and I'm just lazy.
Ok, maybe I'm a little romantic. Here I am helping Betsy make almond cookies yesterday (and by "make", I really mean "eat").
It occurred to me I haven't posted in a long time. My apologies. The last month or so have been a nice blur.
I've been running a bunch and have sold off a number bikes, including my stainless Hampsten and my celery green Speedvagen (not to worry, I have more):
But this past month has really been about food.
Like the good son, I went to Houston for Mother's Day. Benihana happens to be my mom's new favorite restaurant, so we went there for lunch Saturday. I will admit, their sushi boats are quite tasty. For brunch Sunday, we went a more traditional route and had dim sum at Arco Seafood Restaurant. A lot of dim sum:
It was Betsy's birthday Wednesday, so I surprised her with dinner at Olivia. Yes, that's foie gras (let the hate mails begin):
And some artfully arranged bird bodies:
Olivia's dessert selection is pretty amazing. This one had dollops of smoked cream, toasted marshmallow, a small cup of chocolate sorbet, malt, and a wafer thin cookie (not to be confused with a wafer thin mint):
Our waiter composed this shot. I'm not so sure I like the careful symmetry of it all, but at least he tried:
Thursday night, I helped Betsy make frosting for her son's birthday cake (by keeping Aster the beagle from eating the butter):
And finally, my strawberry plant is starting to bear fruit. I just like the way the morning dew collected on the ends of the leaves in this pic:
