New Home, New Christmas Tree
We went out and chopped down our 2012 Christmas tree and put it up in the living room.
Where do you think one would find such a tree in Reno?
Everybody sells ’em, from the Garden Shop Nursery to Walgreen’s to any supermarket to Whole Foods for the sustainably raised and good tasting.
We got ours… Continue reading “Oh Christmas Tree…”
Reno has the Rodeo, Hot August Nights, the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-Off, The Great Reno Balloon Race and now, Petty for Cash.
In celebration of their 22nd Anniversary on the air, KTHX, 100.1 THE X, threw a concert in the John Ascuaga’s NUGGET Celebrity Showroom. Tickets were 20 bucks each and ALL proceeds went to “Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful” and the Washoe County School District Fine Arts and Music Program. Surely a worthy cause but I was hooked by the music concept:
20 Bands play 1 Tom Petty Song each.
How cool is that?
I didn’t waste time before ordering tickets for me and C, Brian and Natasza.
Continue reading “Rock out in Reno”
We could see both ends, but it was too close to take a full picture.
In December 2010 I chronicled the SF Giants season, culminating in their first World Series Championship in over 50 years. It was celebrated with a parade on November 2nd, and having nothing I would rather do, I was there.
Now, a scant 2 years later, the Giants went and did it again, defeating the team boasting the first triple-crown winner since Yaz, and Justin Verlander, proclaimed the best pitcher in the world. Well, the Giants swept the vaunted Dee-Troit Tigers in four games. Boom. It was over Sunday night. So the city of San Francisco threw another, bigger parade on Halloween. The world turned black and orange.
I was sorely tempted to make the drive from Reno to SF, but then regained my senses. In 2010 I rode my scooter to the parade route, and as soon as the last float passed, I rode home to watch the ceremonies on TV. No way I could get anywhere near the stage. If I drove down… well, you can imagine the scenario.
And yet… I have pictures. How can this be? It’s magic, as you shall see.
Continue reading “The Giants Win the Pennant,The Giants Win the Pennant!”
West and East and 36 years
Last Saturday night, Carol and Marcus attended the Oktoberfest Party at Sierra Canyon in Reno, where they now reside (a Dell Webb 55+ community).
Here’s Carol and a bunch of old people… There was live music — think Danke Schoen and Roll out the Barrel. The couple across from us, Buck and Jan, moved here from Mesquite NV, a town of 15,000 in the desert about 75 miles north of Las Vegas. They have 8 18-hole golf courses and 133 days over 90 degrees. Everybody here is from *somewhere else,* so that’s usually the first topic of conversation.
The buffet included more than one kind of wurst, cabbage in many forms, German potato salad and plenty of beer. The first round was draft Sam Adams Oktoberfest followed by various bottled beers. There was dancing and frivolity but we didn’t stay to the bitter end… we were eager to get home to the Nebraska at Ohio State football game. We watched the first quarter before leaving and “taped” the balance of the game. The Buckeyes were struggling and trailed at the end of the quarter. As you can see, they turned THAT around.
We transition to another place and time in my life: Not much more than 6 actual hours later, son Eric was taking pictures at Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston where, in 1975, he accompanied his dad on a very early morning tree planting in South Market Street.
That’s right, Eric. On a rainy October morning in 1975 I didn’t have to pry you out of bed at 4am to go with me to meet the first of the tree trucks, arriving with their Locust trees from New Jersey. You were so excited that you were dressed and ready to go when I knocked on your door.
Continue reading “Saturday Night Sunday Morning”
Thankfully this image is NOT indicative of the food we ate when the Carol Rector family met in Lancaster to memorialize her mother Liz, who passed away this summer. Brian grazed up north in the Mistake by the Lake while the Mainers and new Renoans joined a few Hales to sip and graze in the new Short North district between downtown Columbus and the OSU campus. The next day (after the obligatory Bob Evans breakfast *at the HOME OFFICE*) we enjoyed a buffet lunch put together by the church ladies of Grace Memorial Church in Lancaster. As a nightcap some of us enjoyed a very good Mexican snack on Route 33. The following morning we reconvened in Jackson County, OH just a few miles from the Ohio River to learn all about the Big Green Egg, with a surprising taste of FORTY YEAR OLD bourbon.
Now that Marc and Brian have returned home to review (and lighten) their images, we’ve pulled together a highlight reel of the visit.
[The image above is not even from Ohio — it’s the cheesesteak vendor at the Philadelphia airport where Alison and I had lunch while connecting to ColuOH.]
Ohio September 2012
It all started Wednesday night at Brian’s house: Happy Birthday Brian… and, he grilled pork chops himself. But that’s not why we were there. We stayed over because we had to get up at 4am so Brian could take us to the airport for our 6:05 flight on Southwest. (Brian and Natasza were flying later.) It was our first time on Southwest and we discovered that when we checked our bags at the curb, all we needed was picture ID… We were already in the computer with our group and number for boarding (A 49). Seats aren’t assigned, but we paid 10 bucks to get in the A group, so getting a seat of choice was no problem. How cool is that?
There’s little to report on food at the airport at 5:15am (no tomato juice available) or on the airplane (just snax, thank you, and oh… bloody marys for 5 bucks each).
We got to Carol’s sister’s house in Baltimore, Ohio, late afternoon and sat down for some of DeeDee’s famous Barley Soup.
“Brown a pot roast real good in a cast iron skillet.
Put it in your slow cooker with potatoes, onion and celery and pour a cup of warm water around, not over the roast.
Cook on Low overnite then just keep adding to it.” (This one had carrots, and corn.)
When I went out for my morning walk Friday, I picked up a few cans of V8 at the IGA. (Note to self: carry your own damn V8 for airplanes and when staying with ordinary people where “juice” means OJ or apple.)
I stopped “downtown Baltimore” to do my walking there… where there are sidewalks. I came across lots of pumpkins in a yard, and a few steps up the street, a very early Halloween decoration. Continue reading “Ohio Food Revue”
Brian emailed this picture to me last Thursday morning. Said, “Balloons over Reno this morning. To see th full spectacle go to Rancho San Rafael at daybreak tomorrow or Sunday.”
What the heck is daybreak? Sunrise this past week has been about the time that I get up, about six-thirty. Carol talked to one of her ladyfriends who said we should go at 5am. I opted to go when I got up on Saturday morning. Does Carol want to go with me? Look for her in the pictures. (Oh, by the way, Brian took his picture at 8:50am.)
Continue reading “balloons!”
The Campaign (II) (2012)
85 min – Comedy – 10 August 2012 (USA)
Director: Jay Roach
Writers: Chris Henchy (screenplay), Shawn Harwell (screenplay)
Stars: Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis and Jason Sudeikis
When long-term congressman Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) commits a major public gaffe before an upcoming election, a pair of ultra-wealthy CEOs plot to put up a rival candidate and gain influence over their North Carolina district. Their man: naïve Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis), director of the local Tourism Center. At first, Marty appears to be the unlikeliest possible choice but, with the help of his new benefactors’ support, a cutthroat campaign manager and his family’s political connections, he soon becomes a contender who gives the charismatic Cam plenty to worry about. As Election Day closes in, the two are locked in a dead heat, with insults quickly escalating to injury until all they care about is burying each other, in this mud-slinging, back-stabbing, home-wrecking comedy. — (C) Warner Bros.
MY TAKE – There are some brilliant and well written scenes… and who knew that Will Ferrell could be so raunchy? But c’mon, it’s an American star-vehicle, so don’t go looking for depth or insight. Just laugh and enjoy… we did.
Got those swell drivers licenses right away.
The swell, blue and white Circa 1982 license plates took a little longer, but were worth the wait (and modest extra charge).
I took my morning walk in Midtown this morning… Started around 7:30, so stuff wasn’t open. I read somewhere — maybe in the Sunday RGJ [Reno Gazette Journal] — that stuff was happenin’ in Midtown… indeed, we ate at Midtown Eatery with Brian a while back BB (Before Buying), shopped at Ace Hardware last week and CRAFT Wines and Spirits just yesterday — all without knowing of a thing called “Midtown.”
I had reason to be in the area this morning, so hey… I’ll take my walk there. What you’ll see is what I saw. I parked on California and walked from California Street south on South Virginia, to Mary Street and back north to Liberty Street. From the git-go I was I was taken by the quality of graphic art, so I whipped out my iPhone (the only ‘camera’ I had with me) to record the events.
Continue reading “Midtown Reno”
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