An Anniversary to Remember

On June 10, 1978, Pepper and I watched as Affirmed won the Triple Crown by edging out Alydar in the Belmont.We were on our 1-day honeymoon at DeGray Lodge in an Arkansas state park on Lake DeGray. We had eaten our Wedding Night dinner at Glynn's Truck Stop in Arkadelphia on our was to the Lodge after our Friday night wedding.  Here we are heading to the Lodge.  Look how young and skinny!

Flash forward 40 years. On June 9, 2018, Pepper and I watched as Justify took the Triple Crown!  It seems that our wedded bliss is good for racehorses.  Pep says we should watch another on our 80th anniversary.

Forty years married.  Dang.  I guess we'll keep one another around.

What a guy!

Family Growth, Drama, and Life in these Somewhat Turbulent United States.

It's been the busiest of times in a Moogie's World lately!

My bestest Mother's Day gift arrived early --  Meet Clayton Patrick ("Clay"), Grandbaby #6, born April 12th at 7 lbs 14 oz, and 21" long!

He not only arrived a little early, he also gave us quite a scare.

His Mama is Rh Negative, and he's Rh Positive. You may recall that Elder Daughter had a problem after the birth of her first son and it ultimately took two DNCs, a month and a half apart, to give her the relief she needed. This time around, even though she had undergone massive RhoGam therapy, and delivered by Cesarean section to avoid the retained placenta issue, the problems with blood landed in Baby Clay instead of ED.

He was "Coombs Direct positive," and, at the advanced age of 1 day, he was diagnosed with anemia, Hemolytic Disease, RH Autoimmunization, and Hyperbilirubinemia. Essentially, his little red blood cells were being destroyed by his own immune system, and his little liver was having trouble disposing of them. After a consult with a Neonatologist he was whisked away to the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit), before the eyes of his terrified big brother and bawling mother, where he was expected to remain from 7 - 10 days. They immediately began phototherapy (imagine all the lights on an airport runway being crammed into a plexiglass incubator), Gammaglobulin to block the antibodies, and lots of IV and oral fluids to flush out the compromised red blood cells.  After her discharge, either SiL#1 or I drove ED to the hospital every four hours so she could feed the baby. Every little bit of fluid mattered.

And, by golly, he showed them!  The little guy improved so dramatically and consistently that he was moved to the step-down NICU in two days and discharged in three more! Elder Daughter had a much happier Mother's Day than we feared a month ago.

The dogs are doing well, even though Moogie's Manor has been invaded by active grandchildren on a regular basis. Sometimes Yap's littermates come for a visit, too, and they play so hard and so long that they wear themselves out. That's not necessarily a bad thing.

I love this pic of Bouie. It looks like he has a handlebar milk mustache, but that's really just his dignified graying snout.

I'm trying something different this spring-- a raised veggie and herb garden in the side yard:

So far, so good!

And, it's time for popsicles! Here are Numbers Four and Five on the day Baby Clay came home from the hospital. Younger Daughter thought ahead -- she lured them outside to eat their Popsicles and took off their shirts. Clever Younger Daughter.

Number Three performed in her Dance Recital last night -- "Ye Olde Toy Shoppe." She danced the roles of "Rainbow Looms" (I'm a little behind -- what is a Rainbow Loom?) and "American Girl Dolls." DiL says that #3 has a love-hate relationship with dance. Heh. She definitely has sass!

Number Two will celebrate his 9th birthday on Saturday!! Nine?!?! Seriously?!?!

Oh well, there are tulips and an orchid in the kitchen and life is good at Moogie's Manor, despite the fact that the Little Rock Police Department is investing in riot gear for every officer. Do you suppose they know something that we don't?

Seriously, do you suppose they know something that we don't?

Perching Upon the Throne is Fleeting

You may recall that Moogie reigned during 2013 as the Queen of the Krewe of CAMAN.  It was a glorious season as I was able to "crown up" several times.  I even "tiara-ed up" once or twice.

Alas, the reign has come to an end.

I made my farewell promenade around the CAMAN Ballroom floor in New Orleans two weeks ago amid thunderous applause.  I even high-fived a few folks.  These are the farewell roses bestowed upon me before they put me to work helping my successor get mantled- and crowned-up.

It's a good thing I like my successor.  Treachery has been known to occur among Royals.

But, fear not for the fate of The Crown.  It has been put to good use as the feature of the first Mardi Gras decor scheme at Moogie's Manor in Little Rock!

And from another angle.

The sideboard is dolled up, too, with treasures old and new.  I did the fleur de lis painting on the right.  (Don't look, Lou.)

The kitchen table is home to a treasure I "won" in a silent auction several years ago -- much to Pepper's delight.  Heh.  It is a favor from the Rex Ball held in 1917.  I caught the beads at some point during the past 14 years.

There are wreaths and trinkets all over the house, as usual.  Makes me not miss Carnival quite so much -- not a lot of folks decorate for Mardi Gras up here.  I hear they even deliver the mail here on Fat Tuesday!   We will go down in late February for the second week of parades, but I don't know how many more times I can talk Pepper into doing that.  But The Queen needs to have her spirit fed!  And to acquire more worthless trinkets tossed from a piece of moving art.  Ah, the trials of royalty!

You'll have to excuse the Queen now.  She needs to go vacuum and dust for the upcoming Super Bowl Gala she is hosting along with her Consort on Sunday, featuring a -- you guessed it -- Mardi Gras theme! Speaking of thrones, I probably need to scrub the toilets, too.

*sigh*

2013 Will be Moogie's Year -- a Memorable Season

So.  The power was finally restored at Elder Daughter's house at about 7:00 Saturday evening (December 29th) just as I was packing to join Pepper, ED, and grandson, Jack, in a toasty warm hotel room.  It was so nice to sleep in the bedroom in only one layer of clothing! 

The last of the snow finally melted as puppy Mysti and I set out for home on January 2nd.  Pepper and Bouie had preceded us on New Year's Day.  This was Mysti's MO for the first 1 1/2 hours of the 7 hour trip home:



It's a good thing she's cute.

On January 3rd, I leapt with both feet into the next project -- the "something else kinda exciting" I alluded to in my December 14th post. So, prepare to be dazzled.

Regular blog buddies know that I rarely post pictures of Moogie.  I'm not skittish about posting embarrassing pictures of the family and the pets, but since I'm more often than not the one taking the pics, I just usually stay in the background.

Not in this post.

Moogie belongs to several Carnival organizations, commonly know as "Krewes," such as Muses, Eggs, and CAMAN.  The Krewe of CAMAN is attached to the Military Officers Wives Club of Greater New Orleans (MOWC), and it entertains members and their guests with an annual Ball during Carnival season -- but it's a fun ball, and not stuffy like the balls put on by some other stuffy Krewes who shall remain nameless, but you know who you are. Even so, most "fun" balls still adhere to a few Carnival traditions, such as a Second Line at midnight with King Cake, and royalty.

Every November, the MOWC holds its "Royal Dinner," the highlight of which is selection of the CAMAN royalty for the upcoming Ball.  Members who have put their names in the hat when registering at the first event of the year (actually, they've put their names in a velvet drawstring bag) watch as one name is drawn from each bag assigned to the Coast Guard, Army, Marines, Air Force, and Navy (see where CAMAN comes from now!).  Those five lucky ladies are crowned and will serve for the next year as the Maids representing their service.  Then, one name and one alternate are drawn from the King's and Queen's bags, but those names are kept secret until the night of the ball.  The Queen unmasks as her name is announced when she makes her grand entrance to the ballroom for her promenade before dinner is served.

Getting excited yet?

You may now bow or curtsy as you find yourself in the presence of Royalty, her royal highness Moogie, Queen CAMAN XL!

(That's XL as in fortieth, not as in "extra large."  Just sayin'.)

You may have guessed that the 2013 ball's theme was "Hats Off to Paris."

Here's the rest of the court and some fun stuff:

The King makes his entrance (minus his tunic and tights because his wife had left them at home).

Q-XL and her King bestow favors on Distinguished Guests.

The promenade.

Unmasking the King (who ultimately had to break his mask because his wife had tied it to his crown and I couldn't get it unknotted).

Pepper makes a pretty handsome Consort, doesn't he?

Elder Daughter was even able to fly down and attend the Ball!  It was such a treat to show her off.  Can you believe she had a baby just five months ago?  (And, no, your eyes aren't deceiving you.  The Queen arrives at the Ball in a different dress than she wears for her coronation.  We must throw the rabble off the scent, don't you know.  My tailor had failed to hem the dress I planned to wear as the deception, but, fortunately I had this ancient dress -- and could still get into it!)

This is a color version of the shot published in the Times-Picayune, together with an article about the Ball:

The excitement continued as the Court and Ball Committee celebrated with an after party during which everyone exchanged gifts and let their hair down.  I think I finally closed my eyes at about 0300.

And there was more excitement to come.  We all planned to meet at about 9:30 Sunday morning to share the Hyatt's brunch.  At 9:25, two friends, Pepper, five twenty-somethings toting backpacks, and Queen Moogie, wearing her crown of course, boarded Elevator E on Floor 21 and headed for the lobby.  Until we got to about the seventh floor.  That's where the elevator decided to stop and display XX as its location.

Fortunately, the elevator had one glass wall that overlooked outdoors, so claustrophobia didn't get a good toehold, but nine folks in an elevator car generate an unexpected amount of heat.  It's not a good thing for royalty to let her subjects see her perspire, so let's just refer to it as "the royal aura."

Following some 45 minutes, and several conversations with a member of the Hyatt's management staff who introduced himself from the other side of the tightly-closed elevator door as "Ben," maintenance finally loosened the door and we were helped out of the car that had stopped about 2 feet below the floor, and escorted by several members of management to the restaurant where our breakfast was comped.

What a memory for our last Carnival season living in New Orleans!  (Hopefully).

I'm still recovering four days later. 

I'll probably be working this in an obnoxious manner for quite some time.  Be forewarned.

You may now arise.

NOLA Navy Week: A Photographic Retrospective

I finally have a little break in the Home Improvement action.  I've been wanting to post a batch of pictures and videos that I took when NOLA Navy Week kicked off on April 17th to accompany my April 23rd post, so here we go. 

Through my work with the Louisiana Committee of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve ("ESGR"), and Pepper's "employer" position as Director of Labor relations for the local utility company, we wrangled an invitation to participate in a "Bosslift" as the ships traveled up the Mississippi. Bosslifts are one method that ESGR uses to educate employers of Guardsmen and Reservists about just exactly what their employees do when wearing their military "hats."  We've flown them in C-130s, toured bases, shown them how the Coast Guard performs marine rescues -- any number of things.  But, this was going to be a spectacular Bosslift.

After a safety briefing, we were to be flown via Blackhawk helicopter to land on the U.S.S Wasp, a multipurpose amphibious assault ship, as she traveled upriver to her berthing station near the Crescent City Connection bridge.  We were to have lunch with crew members and observe them at their duty stations.  What a dream come true for a little girl born to a Daddy in the Navy, and who grew up to marry an Army chopper jockey!

Dream gone bad.  The weather gods had different ideas, mainly due to the high winds, and the flight was canceled (not to mention the weekend's Blue Angels air show).

To make it up to us, a local paddlewheeler boat, Creole Queen, was engaged to ferry us downriver as the ships came up, and we were allowed to follow Wasp to her berth -- a two-hour adventure, complete with complimentary cocktails!  In driving winds and drenching rain.  But, it was fascinating and we stayed outdoors on the aft deck the entire time.  What a view!  Herewith, some pics and videos:

Sailors in real uniforms from the U.S.S. Constitution.  Pretty cool.

A taste of the lousy weather as we headed downriver.

Passing one of the military ships.

And a couple of videos.

This is one of the Merchant Marine vessels that use the Mississippi as home berth, when they're not being dispatched all over the globe.  One of them was used after Katrina -- at the really brave direction of her Captain, who had been ordered not to do so by the brass -- as a provider of dialysis services in sick bay (since the hospitals were kaput), and supplier of fuel from her own tanks for emergency vehicles.  Captain Lansden was later commended by the White House for his humanitarian aid, and rightly so.

Here comes Wasp!

And there she goes!  You can tell how they launch amphibious landing craft aft.

This is the old dock at the former Naval Support Activity.  A Field Artillery unit from the Louisiana National Guard fired a 21 gun (cannon!) salute as each ship passed by.  You'll see more in a video below.

Wasp rounding the bend by the French Quarter.

Wasp being pushed into her berth by tugboats.  There's a pretty strong riverboat pilots' union around here.

View of the St. Louis Cathedral and Jax Brewery in the French Quarter from the water.

The Ecuadoran tall ship, BAE Guayas, at berth.

The Indonesian tall ship, Dewaruci, at berth.

The U.S. Coast Guard tall ship, Eagle, at berth.  She's actually a commissioned training vessel.  I'll post more pics later from the day I volunteered for the tall ships, from aboard Dewaruci and Eagle.

Coast Guard fast boats patrolling.  There was lots of security.

And, as the paddlewheeler Creole Queen heads back to dock, her steam calliope salutes the American ships with a medley of sea services anthems.  A pretty impressive and memorable day!

Happy Mardi Gras 2012!!!

I briefly tried to post a small political distraction on the iPad, but the App gods had other ideas, so . . .

Happy gorgeous, joyful Mardi Gras!!!!

I'm sleeping for the next day or so.

Wake Up! It's 2012!!!

To one and all (except maybe for a few folks in DC), HAPPY 2012!!

May this new year provide you and yours with twelve flavors of awesome, health, happiness, and prosperity.

And, maybe a Razorback victory in the Cotton Bowl. And another Saints Super Bowl ring.

Maybe a Powerball win or two.

And the safe return of all our military members to the loving arms of their families and loved ones.

Now, go eat that pork roast and those black eyed peas and cabbage! (Moogie is preparing cabbage and Brussels sprouts because we can use every single dollar the Fates can spare!). The Lord helps those who help themselves!

New Year's Eve Eve 2011

So, last night we had two gatherings.

For the first, we had time only to drop in and run because we had weeks ago accepted a dinner invitation from May guests at Moogie's Mansion. It was good to have one last gathering of The Easter Group for this year (seven families with children of similar ages who have been getting together at Easter, then Christmas, then New Year's, then wedding and baby showers, and birthday parties since the eighties). Three of those families (including Moogie's) have scattered around the globe in the last decade.

Later we joined my junior/high school friend and her husband (who is only a few weeks out of surgery!) at their delightful home in Hillcrest for a new taste experience and companionship.

Shep grilled marinated lamb tenderloin. I've never had lamb tenderloin before. Oh. My. Word. I gotta find me some lamb tenderloins again SOON!!!

It was a delightful, relaxing evening without a food orgy, but food delights. And good company, learning about the sculptures created by our host from raw wood.

Wow.

More food tomorrow -- after scrubbing, dusting, washing, unpacking, and sneezing (a lot!) at the construction project! There's a non-freight-train light at the end of the tunnel!!!

Happy New Year's Eve Eve!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

May your day be blessed with good food and good times.

And a little Wooo Pig Soooiieeeee!!!!!!!!!!

Back to School: an Upgrade

Now that school has been back in session for several weeks, some of you may be puzzled why I haven't posted a rant about the Sophie Wright Academy school buses that served as the bane of my existence for the last couple of years with their vrooming and squealing and beep-beep-backing-upping.

It seems that some changes have been made!

There is a fleet of brand-new buses sporting the Sophie Wright name parked in the lot, and their engines and OSHA-mandated back-up beepers must be a whole lot quieter, cause I hardly notice them at all.  There is also apparently a whole fleet of brand new bus drivers who are skilled enough to negotiate the turn onto our side-street without having to do a 2- or 3-point maneuver.  Not as many buses are running down our side-street this year either -- they seem to be going down the thoroughfare adjacent to Sophie Wright.

So, YAY!!!!

The most interesting change I've noted, though, is the demise of the name, Sophie B. Wright Academy.  All those new buses now announce that they're carrying the students of "Sophie B. Wright Institute for Academic Excellence." 

If you call it academic excellence, will academic excellence follow? 

Sounds a little too PC to me, but, if it means the buses are better behaved, I'll call the school Massachusetts Institute of Technology if that's what they want.

Go, Warriors!

Wedding Day, Minus 3 -- and Hello Hurricane Season 2011

So, I'm thinking the tire gods are as angry with me as the Blogger gods have been recently.

I got on the road later than I would have liked (because I had to wait for a UPS delivery requiring a signature -- and the delivery guy was out of treats for Bouie, who was already stressed out by all the packing and taking of Rosie to the kennel early without him. Yeah, he doesn't go until today because Pepper needed company last night. So, I had to dig up some old treats for Bouie because he was wearing his pitiful face. It was a hectic scenario at Moogie's Mansion.)

So, I got on the road later than I would've liked, but early enough to get me to Little Rock in time to get some wedding stuff done. I downed my Wendy's grilled chicken wrap and was settling down on the long I-10 bridge over the spillway when I heard a lot of racket; I couldn't figure out what it was for a bit, and initially thought the beat-up car beside me needed to have its engine looked at, when it dawned on me that I had a flat. Going 65 mph, on a bridge, I had a blowout. In a car that was loaded to the gills with wedding and reception paraphernalia.

Several hours, and USAA Roadside Assistance, later, after kind assistance from a lady state trooper (who offered to help me change the tire!), a tow to a "safe place" (because the Roadside Assistance folk don't change tires on an interstate bridge), and a hefty wait for the tire changer at the truck stop casino (because tow folks don't change tires), I was back on the road. But, by golly, after proving to myself that I could still change a tire a few months back, I had vowed not to do that again, and I remained true to my vow.

I didn't get to Little Rock until after 10:00.

It was a long day.

And all this is to say that posting will probably be sparse the next few days until we buy all the booze in central Arkansas, deliver stuff all over creation, entertain, and marry off the last child. It will be glorious!

I need a nap.

Lemonade Day 2011: Entrepreneurship Training or Cookie Cutter Thinking?

I've been seeing cryptic, mass-produced signs around town announcing "Lemonade Day," but I didn't really know what that meant and had little incentive to investigate.  Today I received an email from Citizens For 1 Greater New Orleans, and it seems that New Orleans will emulate Houston and hold its first "Lemonade Day" on May 7th.  It's an exercise in organized entrepreneurship for children.  Here's the website banner:

The "How it Works" page says:

Lemonade Day is Saturday, May 7, 2011. In March and April kids all over South Louisiana will learn how to start, own and operate their own business – a lemonade stand. Each kid who registers will receive a bright yellow backpack -inside is everything you need to prepare for Lemonade Day. Get a backpack, make a plan and get started making some money! Here’s how:

1. Pair Up: You must have a “caring adult” with you when you register - that could be a parent, grandparent, older sibling, teacher, scout leader or other responsible adult. You must have an adult say that it is OK for you to do Lemonade Day and operate a lemonade stand.

2. Register

Sign Up at http://southlouisiana.lemonadeday.org (After completing the online registration, you will receive an email instructing you to print out the reply and bring it with you to any Pick-Up Location to verify registration. Don’t forget this part!)

The children will pick up a "backpack" at a participating sponsor's place of business (Raising Cane's Chicken, among others, in southeast Louisiana -- and that's some mighty fine chicken and sauce and lemonade, I'm here to tell you!).  Each backpack will contain business plan materials, including an Entrepreneur Workbook and Caring Adult Guide.  There are also online "games"  the kids can play that teach them basic econ, logistics, marketing, and management.  The kids are even give pre-produced "posters."  This short video describes the program in a nutshell:



This sounds like something I would have done with my children had the program been around when they were little.  Whose children didn't have at least one lemonade (or Kool-Ade) card-table-set-up-at-the-curb-stand, mixing up concoctions that were always, "interesting?"  And I'm certainly a fan of encouraging entrepreneurship, but, I must be getting geezerish and cranky and . . . jaded. 

The big thing that stuck out for me in that video?  How very involved the "caring adults" were.  They seemed to be turning the operation into an organized-little-league-baseball operation instead of a Hey!-let's-do-a lemonade-stand-after-the-sandlot-baseball-game operation.

If done properly, this could indeed be a wonderful family opportunity that teaches kids something while they're having fun.  But, I have my doubts that most of the "caring adults" will be willing to kick back and let the kids do it (picture "perfect" Science Fair projects or Soapbox Derbies).  Or let them have much fun. 

I see competition among the "caring adults," not among the budding entrepreneurs -- and not necessarily healthy competition.

And, I wish they'd waited to do the project until the kids were out of school and bored.

I hope I'm wrong, though, and I wish all of Lemonade Day's participants a wonderful experience in commerce -- and lots of fun!

What do you think?  Am I onto something, or just growling at someone to get off my lawn?

One More Happy-Tired Post-lette

Heading south tomorrow after a bachelorette weekend with a wonderful group of young women in an ideal setting, great food/beverages, fun-and-games, and thoroughbred racing. Of the equine variety.

My primary function, in addition to being mother of the bride-to-be, was as executive chef and designated driver.

Once again, I'm really tired.

But, it's a happy tired.

Moogie's Interesting Day

After last night's rather forceful hail storm, today has been one of "interesting times," as in the old Chinese proverb and curse.

Let's recap, shall we?

I stepped in dog poop on the way to a doctor's appointment.  With both shoes.

Younger Daughter picked up the "Plan B" bridesmaids' dresses today (chosen after it came to pass that "Plan A" didn't come in navy blue after all) and says they're hideous and noisy.  Plus, the shoes agreed upon after quite a lengthy debate and much discussion have been discontinued.

Pepper is sick with a chest cold on the day before I leave town for bridal frivolity.

The grocery was out of rotisserie chicken, with which I was going to pamper myself after an "interesting" day.  I deserve pampering, so we're going with by-golly fried chicken!  (Suffer with the image of fried chicken, Michelle Obama.  Suffer.)

And, it seems that, at five feet in height, and not-obese-poundage in weight, and at 56 genteel years of age, Moogie can still change a flat tire.  In drizzling rain.  With freshly washed and styled hair.  In under an hour.

I despise so very much the interminable wait for automotive assistance in the Crescent City that, after checking twice that the tire was in fact too flat to make it to Firestone (because I was in denial after the first time), I decided to walk the two blocks home to change clothes, and to change the sucker myself.

First I re-scheduled the doctor's appointment.  Those people charge you anyway if you decide just not to show up! 

Then, I pulled out the owner's manual to brush up on where all the tire-changing equipment is located (and to figure out how to use that fancy twist-instead-of-pump-to-operate jack -- this alone should give you an idea of how long it's been since Moogie changed a flat)  (and where, exactly, to place the fancy jack) (and how to lower the spare from its snug perch beneath the MoogieMobile).  Those fine folks at Toyota wrote a driver's manual that is actually helpful! 

I miscalculated how very heavy a full-size spare for an SUV crossover is, but somehow, and with much perspiring and colorful language and laughing aloud all by myself at the absurdity of the whole situation, I managed to wrestle the flat tire off, and the spare onto, that wretched rear passenger-side wheel.

Of course, all along I was hoping against hope that some kind gentleman would happen upon me and come to my rescue.  My Mama didn't raise no foolish children, after all.  And, about 35 minutes into the process, just as I had gotten that "interesting" jack to lift the car to an adequate height, and was preparing to pull the contemptible flat off, from the corner of my eye I spied a white pick-up truck slowing, and coming to a stop across the street!  I heard the door shut, and sensed the motion of someone heading in my direction!

Not wanting to appear too eager, I didn't immediately turn on the damsel-in-distress charm for my Good Samaritan.  And, it's a good thing I didn't bother wasting any of that charm because the man who headed in my direction was not a Good Samaritan -- he was the Samaritan's evil twin.  Or Satan incarnate.

First, he asked me in passing, "How ya doin'?"  As I replied, "I've been better," he continued to stroll right into the nicely manicured yard beside which the hobbled MoogieMobile was parked. Then he sashayed past me again to open the gate.  All in all, that scrawny landscape guy passed me, as I strained and sweated, FIVE times.  Then he crossed the street, got in his truck, and took off, without so much as a fare thee well.

After more colorful language, and considerably more perspiring (I was well beyond "glowing" by this time), I succeeded in getting the spare situated, and stood on the lug wrench to tighten each nut.  And, just as I was preparing to crank the despicable flat up into position to take it to be repaired, good neighbor Wayne pulled up.  He asked if I needed any help, and when I said no thanks -- I was just putting stuff away now -- he remarked that he had apparently gotten there at just the right time. 

Ha.  Ha. 

When I told him about the landscape guy, he asked if the guy was blonde.  I told him, no, he was more grayish and really slim.  He said, "Yeah that'd be Joel.  Doesn't surprise me that he'd take off without helping."  So, apparently Joel's reputation precedes him, and follows him.

I rinsed my hands with water from a thermos and toweled off with stowed-away Wendy's napkins,  (I apparently failed to see the filth on my calves, acquired while trying to coax the spare onto the frickin' wheel.  At least I didn't notice it until I was sitting and soaking in the pedicure chair -- which, by the way, I absolutely deserved today!  The nice pedicure lady made an "interesting" face when I apologized for having filth on my calves because I had just changed a flat tire.  She should count her blessings that at least I took a quick spit bath of the important parts and changed clothes before going there.) and headed for Firestone.  The nice clerk checked and aired up all my tires, apologizing because my tire can't be ready until tomorrow.  When I'm leaving town.  In my car.  And then they were out of soap in the ladies room.

*Sigh*

So, I'm going to indulge in a cocktail this evening before our fried chicken dinner.  And it's good to know that I can still change a tire when the necessity presents itself.  I suppose.

I'm gonna be sooooo sore tomorrow.

The Afterglow

Valentine's Day 2011 concluded with an amazingly good (if I do say so myself -- and I do!) dinner that involved scallops, lobster, asparagus, pasta, and chocolate.  All enjoyed at home, far from the madding crowds at restaurants.  I even vacuumed!

It was too cool to sit on the freshly-cleaned porch by the time Pepper got home, so we enjoyed the champagne with strawberries macerated in Cointreau indoors, in the company of the dogs and Wheel of Fortune.  Vanna looked lovely, as did I in my "Kitchen Diva" apron.

Although I didn't expect a thing, Pepper surprised me with something simple and shiny!  He told me I'm lucky he thinks Mignon-Faget is such a cool store, and I certainly can't disagree.  He also presented me with the sweetest and most thoughtful store-bought card I've ever seen!  For real!  Here it is.

First, the cover:

Now, the inside:

He knows us soooo well.  Isn't that the sweetest thing you've ever seen!

Bouie, on the other hand, doesn't appear to be the biggest fan of Valentine's Day.  Here he is trying not to chew on a remembrance from Valentine's Day past.  Just look at that expression!

Seriously?!?!

There's something so romantic about not planning an over-the-top observation of a Hallmark-related event, and discovering that being in the comfortable presence of a loved one can become over-the-top all on its own.

Even so, shiny things will always offer romantic potential.  Especially unexpected shiny things.  Insert smiley face here!