A Fall Day in Manhattan with Friends

Fall is here which is my favorite time of year for visiting Manhattan. Fortunately, Peg and I had wrangled tickets to see A Steady Rain starring our favorite Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig. So on a cool, breezy, gray day, 15 of us met in Manhattan for the play. Some of us enjoyed a great lunch (with our favorite waiter) at Above (in the Hilton on 42nd), drink at the Marriott Marquis, and a delicious dinner at Cara Mia on 9th St (just south of 45th). Here are some photos of a great day in the Big Apple:

Times Square

Cindy, Peg, Linda, and Terry

Caryl, Jackie, and Mo

Linda and Peg

Caryl and Marda at Cara Mia

Peg (below) on new steps in Times Square for Half Price Tixs

Happy News on Sweetie

Sweetie Wheatie (our 13 year old wheaten terrier) is back home after surgery to remove one of her adrenal gland and an "ovarian remnant" (read: part someone missed when she was spayed). Her adrenal gland had a tumor on it that was causing the gland to overproduce hormones in particular cortisol resulting in a condition called Cushings Disease.

The surgery was a success with no complication and a good prognosis expected. She needs to be on prednisone for the next 6 weeks as we gradually taper it down while her other adrenal gland wakes up to the fact its been a slacker the past couple of years and needs to step up and do the job.

So she has a shaved belly, is a little loopy from the pain meds, and luigi isn't sure he wouldn't have her still at the vets (little attention monger). But we are very happy that everything went so well. She is 13, after all. We're hoping this surgery will give her good quality of life and she enjoys her golden years.

You Might Live in Washington State (in the spirit of Jeff Foxworthy)

Jerry and I lived in Issaquah, Washington for 9 years. We loved it. Okay. I loved it in its entirety. Jerry loved everything but the rain and gray skies. Hence we moved to sunnier climes. But I still miss it. And when I get something like the following from an old Washington STate friends, i laugh and cry at the same time. Enjoy! If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't work there, you live in Washington. If you've worn shorts, sandals and a parka at the same time, you live in Washington If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed the wrong number, you live in Washington If you measure distance in hours, you live in Washington . If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, you live in Washington. If you have switched from 'heat' to 'A/C' and back again in the same day, you live in Washington. If you install security lights on your house and garage but leave both doors unlocked, you live in Washington If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in Central, Southern or Eastern Washington. If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a 2 layers of clothes or under a raincoat, you live in Washington. If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow and ice, you live in Washington. If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, and road construction, you live in Washington . If you feel guilty throwing aluminum cans or paper in the trash, you live in Washington. If you know more than 10 ways to order coffee, you live in Washington. If you know more people who own boats than air conditioners, you live in Washington. If you stand on a deserted corner in the rain waiting for the "Walk" signal, you live in Washington. If you consider that if it has no snow or has not recently erupted, it is not a real mountain, you live in Washington. If you can taste the difference between Starbucks, Seattle's Best, and Dutch Bros, you live in Washington. If you know the difference between Chinook, Coho and Sockeye salmon, you live in Washington. If you know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Abiqua, Issaquah, Oregon, Umpqua, Yakima and Willamette, you live in Washington. If you consider swimming an indoor sport, you live in Washington. If you can tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese and Thai food, you live in Washington. If you never go camping without waterproof matches and a poncho, you live in Washington. If you have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain, you live in Washington. If you think people who use umbrellas are either wimps or tourists, you live in Washington. If you buy new sunglasses every year, because you cannot find the old ones after such a long time of not needing them , you live in Washington. If you actually understand these jokes and forward them to all your Washington friends, you live or have lived in Washington.

And We're Off!

Saturday we took off on our grand one month adventure to Bali. We flew to LAX on USAIR, a nice, uneventful flight. I wrangled a free upgrade to biz class so had plenty of legroom for Jerry and managed to catch a much needed catnap. We had a delightfully pleasant flight attendant: polite, attentive, and gracious.

In the spirit of the Baesel family motto “never go ANYWHERE without a book”, Jerry and I have to travel on a plane with BOTH our Kindle and a “real” book. The real book is for the point in time when you board to that mysterious time in the sky when “you may now turn on all permitted electronic devices”. And the reverse at the end of the trip! So I’m reading Tony Horowitz “A Journey Long and Strange” (real book) and Eat, Pray, Love on the Kindle (have to finally read it since the “love” chapter takes place in Bali and they are supposedly getting ready to start filming there, possibly while we’re there)

While reading, I listen to music (instead of the restless baby, snoring guy behind me, or the clickclick of the computer belonging to the other guy behind me) I have decided to listen to the songs on my IPOD in alphabetical order (yes, I know I lean toward compulsive tendencies). Given that I have over 6000 songs on my IPOD, I probably should take bets as to how far I get on this vacation. For the cross country flight I got from “Ab” to to “Al”. and discovered that I have 22 songs that begin with the word “ain’t” , pretty amazing for a word that is technically not grammatically correct! Can you name 3?

We’re staying 3 days in LAX visiting family and friends before taking off for Bali via Hong Kong and a 24 hour travel stint! Drove out to Moreno Valley on Saturday where it was 111 degrees (but you know, it was a “dry” heat…bah…it was darn hot!) Had a great visit at keri and josh’s new house celebrating her 30^th and their new home ownership. Had fun visiting with family, eating good food (thanks Kelly), and playing with my brothers adorable miniature dachshund, (lapdog extraordinaire).

Yesterday was a delightful day with friends Jerry and Carol. We drove down to north san diego county where we visited the Quail Botanical Gardens in Enicinitas. Strolled, chatted, and “ooo’d and ah’d” over really cool plants & trees. See my travel blog www.thetravelingbaesels.blogspot.com).

And while we’re having all this great time, Los Angeles is under attack, so to speak, by a series of wildfires. The biggest and most spectacular and unfortunately the deadliest is known as the Station Fire (La Canada, Altadena, Mt Wilson) It’s on its 4^th day, has consumed over 50,000 acres and will probably go to 100,000 acres. Two firefighters were killed when their vehicle plunged off an embankment. The smoke clouds look like a volcanic eruption and it is now threatening Mt Wilson Observatory and a important set of communication antennae/equipment. A number of cabins and ranch buildings have been destroyed and as of now, they think it could take until September 8^th to get it fully controlled and perhaps out.

I’m off soon for lunch with old friends …more later.

Mommy Can We Come With You

Our animals are going to be SO happy when we're done with the house in Florida and stop all the crazy travels (in excess of the normal crazy travel we normally do). And we are going to be happy too, to be home longer than 2 weeks at a time. So when I was packing the other day to come down to St Pete...I left the room for a bit and came back to see this:

Flying Home

Left a hot and steamy St. Pete for a warm and steamy Philadelphia on Saturday. We had a remarkable easy, on time, and glitch free trip. We EVEN had our bags within 5 minutes of getting to the baggage claim area. This is UNHEARD of for USAIR at Philly airport.

The pic above is of the "weather" coming in off the Gulf just before we left Tampa Airport. Glad we left when we did...in 30 minutes it would have been over the airport. The water below is from the northwestern reaches of Tampa Bay, near Safety Harbor and eastern sections of Clearwater.

Home Again

Arrived home after 2 weeks to wonderfully friendly "hi mom, hi mom, hi da, hi da" dogs and cats. I really like that none of the cats give us cat butt for a day to punish for our absence. Nope. Geena is laying next to Jerry, Captain is at my feet. And Freya is in the middle of the bed. Luigi is under the bed, and Sweetie is on the big chair. All together, happy at last!

What I Love About St. Pete - Our new hometown

Sometime before the holidays we will be moving into our new renovated/remodeled/additioned home in the Old Northeast section of St. Pete. Its been a long road to get to that point and we are READY to say "we live in ST. Pete". Which is a good thing since its taken us 2 years and more money that expected to get permits and construct our dream retirement home. (jerry would say nightmare...but he'll feel better when we're done).

We spend several weeks a month here now, renting a small furnished apartment a few blocks from the house. We are beginning to feel a bit "at home" here.

So what do I love about St. Pete this week? Diner 437, our fave restaurant in town. Chef Domenica Macchia has created a wonderful "home cooking" with a twist menu and SHE is a delight. I "met" her through Twitter via a post by @thestew (thanks guy!). She is fun, opinionated (in a good way), real, cooks REAL food, and is adventurous. Today we went for lunch and had her wet-aged (by Domenica herself) prime rib. Oh my gosh...divine...which absolutely perfect mashed potatoes. Can't wait to introduce Jason to her potatoes.

But there is more to St Pete besides good food. Last night we went to see the Rays play against the Yankees (sadly they lost) at the Tropicana Dome (The Trop). We bicycled there. Yes, me! Yes, to a major MLB ballfield. Even though we live in a quiet, homey, historic neighborhood, we are within 2 miles of the Trop. And there is a major bike path much of the way. We left the Trop on our bikes and were almost home before a lot of the people got out of the parking lot in their cars! Great fun!

And then there's people. We've become good friends with our architect John and his wife Susan. And now with our contractor Emil. We're making acquaintances with people through twitter (yes, I just said Twitter) mainly associated with food (good thing there are a lot of walking trails and sidewalks here...i'm going to need it to walk off all the dining opportunities).

Now if we can just stop finding dry rot and termite damage so we concentrate on building the new part of the house rather than rebuilding the old part! (see http://www.annettesspot.blogspot.com/ for the saga of the house).

Long Time No Post

The last few months have been a blur and I've sadly neglected this blog. Managed to keep up with Facebook and Flickr and am trying out Twitter. But am just often too weary to post. But I've renewed my conviction to keep this one up. So first. check out http://www.annettesspot.blogspot.com/ I've made several posts with updates on our new place in St. Pete. That will get you up to date on that aspect of our life. I've promised myself to update my travel blog with our June trip to Nashville and our July trip to Montreal. In the meanwhile you can check out www.flickr.com/photos/abaesel to catch some of the photos.

For now...here is a photo from today in St. Pete. This was a giant thunderhead with an enormous "anvil" which fortunately headed northwest instead of over st. pete.

Late Spring

This is my favorite time of year here, yes, even more than the autumn. When the peonies, lilacs, iris, roses, and aliums are in a riot of bloom...I just love it:

A La Maison in Ardmore

Found a little bit of Montreal bistro in Ardmore, PA. We love this place. Polished wood floors, high ceilings, bistro tables, warm tones on the walls, lots of light, and great food. A simple but delicious menu...we've eaten there 3 times in the best few weeks (once for lunch, twice for dinner). Its BYOB which is great. So far? Lamb Shanks on white beans, Fried Soft Shelled Crabs, Escargot, Moules and frites, mesclun salad, pink grouper on ratouille, Cassoulet. All perfect in taste and presentation. Oh and mixed berries with perfect creme and a pot au creme (chocolat with a few raspberries). yum. good service, a bit inexperienced but willing to find the answers quickly...make a point of making a stop at A La Maison. here is their website for more info and address. http://www.alamaisonbistro.com/

Kindle

I have a Kindle2. Never thought I'd want one. Never thought I'd really like it. Wrong on both counts. I decided that the new Kindle (being smaller/thinner and lighter) might make a great travel aid when we take long trips so that I don't have to lug along 15 lbs of books in my suitcase. Then I tried one and discovered that a) you can make the font bigger (great for aging eyes), b) you actually can make annotations on a page (great for book club reading), c) its easier to hold in bed when you are laying down than a really big book, d) you can share e-book purchases between family members with different kindles (as long as they are registered to the same Amazon user), e) it has really good battery life (especially when the wifi is turned of), f) its really light weight and, g) important for traveling - you can store an AMAZING amount of books on it. So I'm sold. And I haven't even explored the world of blogs, newspapers, and magazines yet. One learning curve at a time.

An unexpected note of good wishes from abroad.

Several years ago Jerry and I traveled to China where we bought some pearl earrings from Fanghua Pearls in Beijing. It was a delightful experience and I remember looking at all the pictures on the walls of foreign heads of state who had bought pearls from them at one time or another (for some reason I particularly remember a photo of Margaret Thatcher). Since that time they have never pestered us with emails or advertisements (even though we gave them our email). Today we received this from them:

Dear Sir or Madam:
This is a letter from Fanghua Pearls in China.
The A ( H1N1) influenza outbreak in some nations reminds us the days in 2003 when SARS epidemic spread in our country. We hope everyone is fine this time in your home town. We will stand together with you and believe that you and your great country will conquer all the difficulties.
Wish you and your family always be health and happy!

Fanghua Pearls

I have to say I was touched and responded back with thanks. It was a good reminder that we are not in this life alone, as individuals or as countries).

A Royal Visit

Last Tuesday night I hosted the Main Line Newcomers Bookgroup at my home. This bookgroup is one of my favorite activities and one I will miss greatly when I move. With Newcomers, I started the bookgroup 6 years ago last February. We've grown from 3readers to an average of 10 (with another 5 to 7 "sometimers"). We've read a diverse set of books over the years, some books I would never have picked for myself. We've enjoyed long conversations, good food and wine, and many interesting books.

This Tuesday we discussed one of my favorite books of the past few years, "Queen of the Road" by Doreen Orion. It is hysterically funny in parts, touching and revealing in others, and all in all thought provoking. I've had the good fortune to "friend" the author via Facebook and email over the past year. And as has become her custom she was willing to "attend" our bookgroup via speaker phone. So we came in our favorite shoes and drank martinis (you need to read the book to get the connection) and enjoyed a wonderful 45 minute chat with Doreen.

A great evening was had by all.

The Return of Sugar

Hallelujah. Heard today that Pepsi is coming out with two new Pepsi products and one Mountain Dew product that will contain a blend of cane and beet sugar in place of corn syrup. I sigh happily with fond memories of how soft drinks tasted when I was young. Hopefully, Coke is not far behind (Coca Cola...do you hear me). And yes, they DO taste different. One of my favorite things about a good mexican restaurant with connections to Mexico/central america (like La Cabana del Tio in Clearwater, Florida) is that they will have Coca Cola and Orange Soda brought from Mexico/Central America...I love it! So soon at a Publix, QVC, Genauris, or Vons near you...

More Cool Stuff from my trip to Seattle

Had dinner over Jennie & Aaron's (my niece and her hubby). my brother Bill and Laurie were there, nephew Rob, and the little ones (Laurel, Will, and James). And my "little one" Jason. Jennie made homemade pizza, Bill and Laurie made salad, Jason made dessert, and I....ate. It was great...everyone was in a good mood.

Fun Times While in Seattle

Arbor: Visited Jason's old school, Arbor Schools. Wow...what a walk down memory lane. Great to see Mary O'Brien (and her son Sean who is now student teaching there...wow...last time I saw him he was 16!).

Had lunch with Sensei Randy Holeman from Karate West where Jason and I used to train when we lived in Issaquah. Had a great lunch, getting caught up on all our lives. Randy and Ken Watrous continue to build a wonderful organization at Karate WEst and beyond.

Scenes from a Great Week

Jason and Yaric at Cutter's for Easter lunch

in front of the oystersPike's Place Public Market on a lovely gray Easter Sunday

Jason's new hair gadget, pretty cool

Jason and the Pike's Place Market pig

Our Old House in Mirrormont

Jason and Yaric in front of the old "gnome house" on Mirrormont Lake

Jason and Yaric in Mirrormont

Jason, Peggy Wiggums, and Yaric

Jason and Yaric at Black Diamond Bakery - love those donuts!

On the Waterfront - Yaric (and Jason)

Laurel at the Market

Jason (in his new Hat) and Annette

Jennie, Will and Laurel peer in at the harbor seals

Jennie admiring Elliott Bay

River Otters at the Seattle AQuarium

Do you see the fishies?

Laurel and Will

Laurel keeps on eye out for fishes and splashy ducks

Ka-Pow Ka-Boom

Jason and Yaric flew in yesterday afternoon and we headed straight up to the University District to meet with Aaron (Jennie's Hubby). We were off to the rifle range...boys excited...mom interested. The rain held off and Aaron had ear plugs for all of us...so we were set! It was pretty fun (after I got use to the concussion-making Ka-booms of the guy and his rifle two stands over).n Afterwards we ate at The Ram in University Village. Where Jason had the biggest hamburger I have EVER seen...it came with a knife...a knife inserted into the hamburger like Excalibur in its stone. Should have taken a picture of that burger...but have some good photos of the boys shooting:
Shooting Range: Kenmore Shooting Range: http://www.wcwinc.org/range/indexR.htm Dinner was The Ram: http://www.theram.com/washington/seattle.shtml

The View from the Emerald City

Landed at SeaTac airport in Seattle last night. My first trip back in 3 years and my first long visit in...probably 8 years. Meeting Jason and Yaric today when they fly in from Florida. Really looking forward to our time here.

Stayed near the airport last night at a La Quinta on 188th and Hwy 99. Walked in around 10 pm and realized that I had landed in the land of Gnomes. ? At first I thought it was an anime thing...until I saw the sign...this way to GnomeStock. Capes, leather, pointy hats, more leather, wild hair, forest accoutrements. Of course, this morning the "gnomes" look like...well techie geeks (said with a full measure of affection for techie geeks)...like they could attend Full Sail. Jason would fit right in. Having done some research...there is something called Gnome.com...which is a search engine. maybe the staff? I googled Gnome Stock and only came up with "Gnome Stock ticker applet"...which does not sound like a party invite. And BTW none of these people are short and oddlooking...at least not in morning light!

Other interesting things this morning. Saw on KOMO news, that a farm out east of Seattle, called Friendly Haven, is renting out Easter Chicks. You get a small batch of them for 30 bucks for the week with a 25 deposit. They say no one actually wants the chicks for longer than a week. no kidding. I wonder what the loss rate is? Boy I bet those little chicks have stories to tell back at the barnyard.

This La Quinta is a bit worse for the wear...old building. there wasn't enough room in the eating area so I ate on a couch holding my cereal bowl in my lap (and they were out of hard-boiled eggs). My toilet was running occasionally...but I met the handyman in the hall and he fixed it right away...very pleasant chap. Parking is horrible..they had to give me a parking pass so I could park behind the Denny's next door...sigh. However, it was a reasonable price, clean, and convenient.

Off to costco to buy shampoo!

Saturday in ST. Pete

We visited with Mom today. Tried to get her answering machine working, think it isn’t working with the “ring signal” they use at The Fountains. Always something. Took her for a run to the Publix, got her signed up at the Pharmacy, bit of shopping. And lunch at Ted Peter’s Smoked Fish (who also has killer grilled hot dogs). We sat in the shade on picnic benches and enjoyed cold rootbeer in a mug and hot dogs. It was lovely today…right around 80 with no humidity.

Earlier we drove down to our favorite “manatee” spot on coffee pot bayou. There were 3 manatees coming up to drink at the storm drain. At one point we could see all 3 of them. They are such beautifully sweet creatures. They all had old scars evidencing run-ins with propellers from water craft. But the scars seems to be pretty old…new regulations and signage may be creating a better environment for them.

Green Heron under a dock

Dinner Time

Cosmos - a neighborhood dog


Where'd the manatee go???
Manatee watching

Met with John and Emil at the house. Emil had built a scaffolding so jerry and I could climb up to the second floor for the first time. It was really exciting. They’ve been doing framing inside so we can see our bedrooms, bathroom, and closet. Walls are going up around the upstairs lounge. Views are great. Space is great. Love it, love it. Roofers were there doing the “stuff” that will go under the tile. (pics are up at http://www.annettesspot.blogspot.com/ - the house blog)

Dinner tonight was at the Crab Shack on Gandy…I had my favorite: blue crab claws sautéed in butter and garlic. Jerry had mussels which oddly were soaked in butter? A little unusual and not the best way to show off the mussels. Strange. Good gulf of mexico oysters.

(addendum on Monday)

On my way home to Philly...rain/storm delayed in Tampa. Mome seems to be settling in pretty well given how much is new and hard to remember. She loves her new bed, her view, and her new flat screen LED tv. We had dinner with her last night...took her to a fish and steak restaurant right on the water in st pete beach...she loved that...got to watch a pelican preen itself for the whole time. She said she really believes she's moved to a beach town now (as if her view of the Gulf of Mexico wasn't clue enough!!!)