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| the smackdown | Little Blenheim | the dernier cri | |||
The unpleasant, acrid smell of burnt poetry.
Young Men in Spats, 1936
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October 31, 2009
Cramped, Mark. Very cramped. But do try to make do.
Jan next door. Lookin' fab for Halloween
5:40 p.m. - So we leapt up and were at McFoster's parking lot at 10:00 am for the tour of the historic cemeteries. Not so. Error. Turns out that the reason we were standing there all by our onesies was that it was at 10 pm, not 10 am. Operator error. We'll try again this evening.
Since the tour was postponed, I schlepped out to Michael's at 144th and Maple (If you need a big box mart out there, there's yet another on the next block) to return a ton of pumpkins and decorations I had bought as centerpieces for our Annual Meeting lunch at work. Then I met up with Jennifer at Mark's house to see the progress. His little place is coming along nicely, and will soon be habitable, if a tad cramped. Afterward, we looked in on an awful "estate sale," which was just beastly, followed by a great lunch at the Dundee Dell and ice cream at eCreamery. We stopped by my mother's house on the way back to say howdy. I took a nap afterward and Jennifer played on the computer.
October 30, 2009
1:18 p.m. - Congressman Ron Paul recently wrote an interesting article, posted on CNN.com. In his article, he lambastes the Federal Reserve for its behind-the-scenes roll in managing our economy. In his article, he writes:
8:26 a.m. - Made it two weeks at the gym. Today I did nearly my entire 20 minutes at the highest setting, though I took a break and lowered the resistance for about a minute mid-way through. Now I start adding time to the work out and adding some weights in the mix, just to shake things up and keep the body guessing. On the down side, I made the mistake of visiting the scale, and the results were disheartening. But I'll keep up the gym workout each morning as best as I can and hope to begin seeing results in the coming weeks.
October 29, 2009
9:47 p.m. - Got home about an hour ago from a very lovely evening at the Scottish Rite, which hosted a dinner honoring the new KCCH and IGH nominees. Normally I work at that event, and it was a nice treat being one of the guests. Access 66 caters and dinner was excellent (as always). I am lucky to be a member with some truly great fellows, and the evening was all the more special because Jennifer came with me.
She's still feeling poorly. I'd've taken the day off to rest, but she keeps calm and carries on with her upper lip in an enstiffened position.
October 28, 2009
1:28 p.m. - Office potluck today at noon. I had more than my fill, mostly filling up on fresh home-made crab rangoons. Nom nom nom! Everything was delicious, and I had too much good things. The corn casserole went over well, and everyone enjoyed the pie. Now I am sitting back in my office, struggling to breathe and remain vertical. Must . . . close . . . eyes. . . for brief nap.
October 27, 2009
Season of mists and mellow and fruitfulness. I love Autumn and the beautiful trees. It's not New England, but Nebraska is a close second. Right?
8:38 p.m. - Jennifer continues to be under the weather. We grabbed a bite to eat for dinner, and I sent her to bed to rest, though I could probably not have stopped her from crashing if I had tried! Meanwhile, I have been baking for tomorrow's pot luck. First, the creamed corn casserole to start. I find that I misjudged the amount of corn to use. The interweb told me to use two cans of creamed corn and two cans of regular corn. Jennifer tells me it should have been one can of each. If the recipe doesn't work, its going to be really, really creamy. And for dessert, I have made the famous Derby pie, whose secret recipe has thrilled gourmands for years.
Meanwhile, I raked another bag of leaves tonight after work. Where did all these leaves come from all of a sudden? At least the weather cooperated today and it was one of those rare, perfect Autumn days. On the plus side, I made it 18 minutes on that elliptical machine. Damn near killed me.
October 26, 2009
9:06 p.m. - The measure of a Mason's greatness is not by his mighty deeds or the perfection by which he confers degrees. The measure of a Mason's greatness is measured by how early he comes before a dinner event to set up and how late he stays afterward to clean up, and not leave until the hall is spotless. To those fellows who achieved that level of greatness at the PM's dinner at Florence #281, thank you. The evening went flawlessly. I emceed it, and to my credit, I did quite well. I was humorous when whimsy was called for, and serious when gravity was called for. I can't say I was as suave as last year's emcee, but I held my own, and the evening was a success.
8:03 a.m. - Made it to the gym this morning. Today I did the elliptical machine. I made it 16 minutes, with a reasonably high resistance. I alternated between 'pedaling' frontward and backward. It was the backward part that killed me, and I couldn't go past 16 minutes before I was too pooped to continue. Tomorrow, I push for 17 minutes.
Meanwhile, slept horribly last night! Probably should NOT have had that bottle of water at about 8:00. I kept waking up around midnight, two, three, four, and five in the morning, plus another half-dozen times in between to go to the bathroom. That's what I get for having a late dinner and too much water.
October 25, 2009
8:28 p.m. - Quiet evening. Jennifer lied down for a while and feels a bit better. I worked downstairs for a while, tackled some laundry, and raked up another bag of leaves. We had a bite of dinner earlier, and now I'm updating the Halloween pictures on the website (here), and Jennifer is watching Rome on cable.
Jennifer tries on a hat at the antique mall yesterday.
3:44 p.m. - Had a phenomenal breakfast with Cindy and Julie at Dixie Quick's this morning! I had biscuits and gravy and Jennifer had a brie and apple omelet. I've never been there before, and it is as good as its reputation. Dixie Quick's has been featured on one of those food channel TV shows (as has Big Mama's Kitchen yesterday), and now that it has been "discovered," it was packed. It used to be, so the legend goes, one of those little places with 5 or 6 tables and it was open whenever the chef felt like being open. Now there is practically a line to get in.
A very Palin Halloween, you betcha! Scary! There were two Sarah Palins! Not Gandalf, but Leonardo DaVinci.
Bernie Madoff
Afterward, Jennifer took a tour of a west Omaha home and has been trying to relax and rest, to get over this bug she seems to have picked up. I did about an hour's worth of raking and leaf removal (the futile task, since the leaves are all back again as I had done nothing), and have been puttering around downstairs picking up stuff and generally tidying.
10:30 a.m. - Update: Jennifer is feeling somewhat better, but is probably sickening for a cold. I hope not. She's donning the old boots and gown, and we're heading to meet Cindy and Julie for breakfast at Dixie Quick's, that secretive restaurant known only to people who already know where it is. Whether she goes on the home tour remains to be seen.
9:51 a.m. - A full week of hitting the gym each morning at 6:45ish! Hopefully it will get easier from here. When I went to the gym some years back, it didn't seem to be quite as hard to get up and go at 6:30 or so in the morning. Now, I seem to be moving slower and taking longer about it. I've been working on building up a bit of cardio strength with a good mile's brisk walk each morning. I'll start adding the elliptical machine tomorrow morning. Hopefully I can keep this up during the winter months!
That said, I set myself back a week with in the last few days. Jennifer and I started with dinner at the Dundee Dell. I had the patty melt - an old favorite - and Jennifer had fish and chips. Perhaps I should qualify myself by saying I really started with a dram of the Balvenie's before dinner. Mmmmm. On Saturday, we started the day by looking in on the antique mall just outside of Lincoln. They had some interesting things, but it was too pricey and we left without purchasing anything.
We got back to Omaha for an incredible lunch. We went to a restaurant called Big Mama's Kitchen, and it was incredible! We tried a little of everything, and you could have rolled us out of there in a wheelbarrow. I had the afro burger, a spicy burger with a really good barbecue sauce. Jennifer had the fried chicken. We had sides of collard greens, cole slaw, sweet potato pudding (!!!), fried okra, cabbage, and baked beans. I could have ordered a gallon of each to go. I tried a bite-sized portion of the sweet potato ice cream, which was just as good as everything else. I might have had the sweet potato pudding as a dessert! We were utterly stuffed afterward and didn't do much the rest of the afternoon. Do yourself a favor and get to Big Mama's Restaurant. That was one of the best lunches I've ever had! Afterward, Jennifer went to Julie's for an hour, and I sat on the porch with Arabella, smoked a pipe (or two), and had a pumpkin ale to recover from that mighty feast.
In the evening, I went to Dad and Deirdre's famous Halloween party. Jennifer wasn't feeling too well and stayed home to rest. I am glad I went; I saw a few old friends and enjoyed myself immensely. This was perhaps the most crowded Halloween bash they've thrown, and the costumes were ingenious and creative! I simply threw on a chef's jacket and a toque and called it good. The man throws his all into that party, which is the highlight of the social season. Click here for pictures.
Jennifer is still feeling down among the wines and spirits, and will hopefully be up for a trip to Dixie Quick's in an hour with some friends, followed by a tour of homes in west O. I slept in until 8:00, and have been watching CNN and playing with the dogs this morning.
October 21, 2009
8:51 p.m. - I bought Jennifer these pecan squares, which we heartily enjoyed this weekend. (They didn't arrive in time for the party.) Nom!
October 18, 2009
9:28 p.m. - Too much dinner tonight. You could simply wheel me to bed. I crashed with 'Bella at my side for a brief while to read and recuperate. Jennifer is in bed watching TV, and I've prepared my bag for the gym tomorrow, and am now sitting back watching Mad Men.
3:47 p.m. - Had a great lunch with Marcus and little Miss Veronica. Followed by still more yard work for another hour. And thusly my extended weekend is winds down.
10:10 a.m. - I start the day off with an industrious hour and a half raking leaves. I'm stiff as a board right now.
October 17, 2009
Jennifer's double fudge chocolate cake
The Community Room decked out for Jennifer
Jennifer, taken from high atop Mt. Fuji at the Gardens
A picture of Percy, just because he is adorable!
7:39 p.m. - Time for one of my semi-regular updates. When last we left, it was the morning of our 7th anniversary. 7 years, kids! Two thousand, five hundred, and fifty-seven days if you're counting. At present, the score hovers as follows:
Jennifer 3,756,423 Micah 3 Somehow the balance of power has been skewed, and not in my favor. Be that as it may, I had a meeting at the Scottish Rite and didn't get home until about 8:00. We didn't do anything interest, but I did pick up Greek Islands for our traditional anniversary dinner.
I took off Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday off. Spent Wednesday frantically cleaning the house. Mopped the floors, cleaned the bedroom, did piles and piles of laundry, vacuumed, dusted, and polished every surface. You could eat off the bathroom floor. Around here, cleanliness lasts for about 15 minutes (a mopped floor has some kind of undetectable pheromones that lures dogs to pee on it), but it was nice to have the house spit-shined for a brief while. The real secret, held closely for the last 10 months was that I was working on Jennifer's surprise birthday party on Thursday, October 14. I picked up Jennifer's old college friend Mark at the airport, who came to town to surprise her. How cool are Jennifer's friends who would go through the expense and bother of flying to town for a half-day, just to surprise her on her birthday? We picked up the double fudge chocolate cake from the Cake Gallery and went down to the Garden to wait. Her co-workers and boss were my secret accomplices, and they detained Jennifer off-site for a meeting. She was going to go straight home, but they lured her back by insisting that the garden club which had rented the room (in reality, me) had trashed the room and they needed her back to assess the damage. She came back with smoke visibly coming out of her ears, and someone was going to be killed. We had stashed Mark in the kitchen and were waiting for her to burst into the community room, but she fooled us and came in through the kitchen. The funny part is that in her momentary rage, she blew past Mark and did a complete double-take when she realized who the guy in the kitchen was. Fair to say, we pulled one over her, and she was completely surprised. - here's to you, Jennifer. Best wife ever! Mostly because you put up with me for the past 2,557 days.)
About 20 guests came - family, friends, current and past co-workers, neighbors, my family. I ordered crab cakes (her favorite), fruit, chocolate-covered strawberries, punch, coffee, water, and chicken in plum sauce. We had fun for a few hours as people came and went. Afterward, Jennifer took Mark on a tour of the Garden and then we stopped off for sushi at Matsu downtown. Wish we had more time to show Mark around Omaha, and we've insisted he bring his wife and daughter to town someday for a proper vacation.
He was off the next morning, and Jennifer took him to the airport around 5:00 am or so. I was beat, and slept in. She took the day off, and we spent the day lazing around the house, though I went out to renew my membership at the Y. Time to start hitting the gym, starting Monday morning. Of course, I decided to join at the cusp of winter, which is going to suck but I think I can do it again. In the evening, I volunteered to work at the Scottish Rite's Friends of RiteCare dinner, which raises money for the RiteCare clinic, providing services for kids affected by speech or language disorders. That was a long 5 hours of work, but it was fun. I won a few silent auction items, but wound up donating one to a friend's wife who really wanted it.
Quiet day today, as well. We went out for a late lunch to Famous Dave's in Council Bluffs, but Jennifer and I have otherwise done little. I carbed myself too much at lunch, and took a brief nap this afternoon. Jennifer is in bed watching TV right now, and I'm catching up on the website and watching TV in the other room while the dogs rest. Tomorrow, weather permitting, we'll try to catch up on some yard work. We'll see. . .
October 12, 2009
7:16 a.m. - Happy Anniversary to us! We've been married 7 years!
October 11, 2009
9:55 p.m. - Watching Mad Men right now on AMC. Don Draper is becoming a real jerk. I'm not certain I like him anymore.
The leaves just fell off the trees in clumps after the snow!
Let sleeping dogs lie. Especially when they are as adorable as 'Bellie and Percy!
8:00 p.m. - And thus the weekend ebbs away. It's still winter, but in true Nebraska fashion, we've grown accustomed to it, and it ceases to frighten and distress us now that the shock and novelty have worn off. Jennifer and I donned the boots and gloves and plunged out into the winter wonderland to brush off our cars yesterday morning. I went off to one of the longest and most boring KSA meetings on record, and Jennifer went to Panera's for a hot cocoa and a bagel. I think she got the better end of the deal by a long margin.
I got home around 11:00, and we decided to find something for lunch. We wound up at Crescent Moon, and I had a Sam Adams Oktoberfest that lacked any redeeming virtues. The roast beef melt was pretty good, and it went well with a traditional Sam Adams. When we got home, the snow had stopped, but we spent a while watching clumps of leaves drop from the trees due to the cold. I hope all those pumpkins we got the other day don't freeze and rot.
We did something fun, but damned if I remember what. I seem to recall something in the way of a failed attempt at a nap followed by Jennifer's more successful nap, and a bit of house cleaning. Around 4:00, Jennifer emerged from her well-earned slumber and decided to look in on Von Maur. I tagged along. First off, let me tell you, dear reader, that I hate going to the Westroads. I hate the mall. I hate shopping (as evidenced by my particularly lame wardrobe). I had hoped to have an unbroken couple of years without stepping foot there. At any rate, j'suis, j'reste. Jennifer got some shoes, I got some shirts.
And thus, dinner time! First stop, Venice Inn. Too crowded. Downtown to Matsu Sushi. No parking. Off to Piccolo Pete's. Also crowded and no parking. Back downtown. Still no parking. Returned to Venice Inn. Still crowded, but with parking. So we had dinner at the Venice Inn. It was good, in spite of the fact the waiter's nose was dripping like a goram leaking faucet. The most disgusting thing I've ever seen. I've never wiped my steak down with Clorox® dinsinfecting wipes before. Horrible.
Which brings us to Sunday. Jennifer shoved off to work for a few hours. Showing unusual industry, I pushed off to Hy-Vee for groceries. They had 12 packs of Scott TP for $7. Sweet! I bought about 5 12-packs, and my basement now has 60 rolls of toilet paper, which ought to keep me out of trouble for about a month. J's new kick is being prepared for the flu, so I picked up Gatorade and Ginger Ale, and Jennifer got chicken noodle soup for extended bouts of illness. You may laugh now, but you'll thank me when you're puking your guts out and begging for Ginger Ale and something light for the ol' tum. That's why my wife is smarter than you - she's prepared like a ninja.
After putting the groceries away and a well-earned bowl of oatmeal, I spent the day alternating between incredible bouts of laziness and extraordinary industry. I've tackled yet another dozen loads of laundry, vacuumed, dusted, cleaned the kitchen, shredded reams of paper that always seems to accumulate.
Jennifer got home around 4:30. I was prepared to make pork tenderloin, asparagus, and green beans, but she wanted hot dogs. Blech. But I dutifully trekked back to Hy-Vee to get hot dogs. This evening, I've been relaxing, watching a bit of TV, and playing with the dogs. Arabella passed out while sitting on my lap. Later, she was nomming her rawhide in the black chair. I threw the blanket over the chair, and Arabella was utterly content in her dark cave as long as she had that rawhide! Adorable! Right now, Percy is fast asleep in the black chair, and Arabella is snoring on the floor beside him.
October 10, 2009
8:03 a.m. - Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? It's snowing. In mid-October. Not just a little dusting, but an old-fashion, go-wake-grandpa, Old Man Winter, Ol' Virginny snowfall. The dogs were greatly displeased and conducted their business sullenly. I went out to take a few pictures, and had their been time, I would have taken a briar with me. I think its just a seasonal fluke - we tend not to get wintry weather until December, though it gets cold in October and November with a fair number of nice autumnal days mixed in to keep you guessing.
In the meantime, the house is warm, we have nothing pressing to do today after my KSA meeting at the Scottish Rite, and I plan to stay at home, do some cleaning, and generally get reacquainted with an old friend called television. Perhaps I'll venture out, if I'm feeling saucy, and pick up the accoutrements for winter - weather-stripping for the windows, hot cocoa and marshmallows, salt for the sidewalk, and microwave popcorn.
What will we do with all these when they start heading south for the winter?
4:31 p.m. - I came home to find that Jennifer's delivery of monster pumpkins have been delivered. Huge gourds, not normal-sized ones. Sure they look all Autumn-y, but they constitute reason number 47,462 why women rule the world. No right-thinking guy would have picked giant pumpkins. Why, says you? Because, says I, eventually the giant pumpkin goes bad. And when a giant pumpkin goes bad, it becomes a bloody nightmare to dispose of! How in the hell do you dispose of a gargantuan pumpkin! I had been slyly bagging them last year and heaving them in a convenient dumpster, but these are too big to move! I'll have to toss them somewhere for nature to quietly deal with.
October 7, 2009
7:21 a.m. - Story for the map lovers out there. J. sees an 1890s Rand McNally map of Omaha in a gallery, selling for $600. $600, she says! That's outrageous! Why, we wrap presents with Rand McNally maps! I'd probably have used an earthier expression, but I admire her shock that someone would charge - much less pay - that for a run of the mill atlas. You may as well pay more than $10 for a George Cram atlas! (Editor's note: I am referring to a single map rather than the entire atlas.)
That said, I have to admit I bid $500 for an 1850s Colton pocket map of the United States - which thankfully I did not win, but I have an idea of the proper value of various maps. $600 for a Rand McNally - bah!
October 6, 2009
Ralph Adams Cram - one of my favorite architects. I have a Time Magazine cover featuring him. I'll have it framed one day and hang it above the autograph. 9:33 p.m. - I finally hung my framed autograph of Ralph Adams Cram over my rolltop desk. Only took a fair decade to get around to it. One day I'll find a Henry Hobson Richardson autograph to go with it. Of course, in that dreamland, I'll also have a brownstone in Louisburg Square, Boston.
Quiet evening at Casa de Evans. J. went to Goodwill with Julie, and I stayed at home, puttering around, straightening around the house.
October 5, 2009
7:30 a.m. - Still on a high from yesterday's news. I went to bed way too late - about 11:30ish - but I slept very well, right until my 6:00 a.m. alarm. That is an extraordinary rarity for me. . . . Off to work!
October 4, 2009
10:08 p.m. - I am up for my KCCH at Scottish Rite. Utterly gob smacked. Wow!
Okay, so I know I have not been a good correspondent for the last few weeks, as I rest and recover from the Walks. I think things will calm down somewhat, so I will resume boring you with the latest news. As for this past weekend, not so much. J. worked at the fall festival at the Gardens, and I spent a quiet weekend cleaning around the house. Spent some time today repairing the fence outside, raking leaves, and sweeping the cobwebs and detritus off the back porch. Another few months of this, and the house will be presentable. . . hopefully in time for our Christmas party.
On that high note, off to bed.
