“You’ve Got A Friend”…..

I have posted before about attending concerts at our Seminole Theatre. We get some headliners and occasional one-tier up performers, but for musicians, it is primarily “tribute band/singers” those performers who play the music of a particular band or individual musician. All the ones we’ve attended have been quite good and last night was Sweet Baby James, a singer who does James Taylor songs. He was excellent and like many who do this, they devote a lot of study to the band/individual and often share those stories.

Last night was no exception as he saved, “Fire and Rain” and “You’ve Got A Friend”, to close out the show. What he shared was something I suppose was known back when the songs came out. James Taylor struggled with depression much of his life and when he was away in England making an important album, his dear friend “Suzanne” took her own life. Other friends agreed they should not tell him until his return because they were afraid he wouldn’t be able to cope with the news and focus on this important work. Thus the line in “Fire and Rain” of not knowing Suzanne was gone. It is an incredibly sad song with the other line of, “there’s been times when I could not find a friend”. He and Carole King were very close and apparently often shared band members as they were doing their albums. After hearing “Fire and Rain”, she wrote, “You’ve Got a Friend”, specifically for him to let him know he could always depend on her. He asked to be allowed to record it, and they both did so on their respective albums. Ironically, it was the only Number 1 hit he ever had although many of his songs did rank high on the charts.

There was a nice crowd for a Wednesday and everyone was impressed.

Rodeo Weekend Again….

The expression of, “This ain’t my first rodeo,” is of course only applicable to people who understand that rodeo really is a way of life. Not ours, yet I’ve lived in a couple of places where you can learn about it. There have been lots of different movies depicting the mindset; some of which have at least accurate segments. And so this is the weekend for Homestead with the 74th rodeo founded back in 1949. There have only been three years of interruption; one relatively early in the history; the year Hurricane Andrew destroyed the grounds; and 2021 due to COVID. Apparently it is a sell-out crowd for part of the time. It kicked off Friday night, was held yesterday afternoon, and concludes this afternoon, Jan 29th. I’m not attending this year, but Hubby will be there to shoot the event. He does get some amazing photos, even though he is definitely not a fan of horses. We did go for a while to the Blue Jean Ball last night. That’s one of the traditions and is the main fundraiser for whichever woman’s group holds it. The Homestead Soroptomists took it over a few years back and it’s always a fun time. Who provides the food also changes out periodically and when you’re serving a couple of hundred (or more) people, it can be tricky. It is buffet and there is the dinner option or just come after for music and dancing. Texas Roadhouse had it this year and they did include a chicken option. I was glad to see that as I’m not a big prime rib fan. I like it from a flavor perspective, but I generally find it too fatty to want to deal with. Anyway, the food was good and the band was too. We don’t stay long and the crowd was pretty much at capacity as we left.

Announcement of the Rodeo Queen took place on Friday although I didn’t catch who it was. Unlike some contests, the Rodeo Queen is determined by who brings in the most ticket sales. A couple of months before the event, posters go up around town and on social media and the contestant often make the rounds of other events to garner support. All are accomplished riders and carry on a long tradition.

I know there are people who object to rodeos, but in reality the animals are well cared for because there is a very special bond between owners even though the horses and bulls for riding aren’t what one can call “cuddly”. They do each have their own spirit.

Of Rahm Schnitzel and Other……

One of theĀ things about travel, whether living somewhere else or as a tourist, is learning about new food. As I’ve mentioned before, I grew up in small towns in North Louisiana and we didn’t travel far for vacations. Our cooking was basic and we certainly didn’t have access to different cuisines, although there was Mexican due to agriculture, and some Cajun. When we went to the big city, we were far more likely to go to the Picadilly Cafeteria than any thought of say one of the few Italian restaurants. I’m sure there probably was a Chinese restaurant somewhere, but again, not anything we would have known about.

My first airplane ride and foreign encounter was the summer session in Canada followed closely by the year I spent in France. I detailed the French part in previous posts. While I was wasn’t overly adventuresome in what I was willingly to try, there was a definite expansion of my tastes and I did become accustomed to more seasonings/herbs, and cooking techniques. Later, my initial Army training was at Fort McCellan, AL, so no great culinary changes there from where I grew up. Going to Maryland though included lots of fresh seafood. (Being in North Louisiana with limited truck transportation back then meant mostly freshwater fish and little shellfish).

My assignment after training to Germany is where I broaden my preferences in both food and wine – well, beer, too. German food has quite a range and Italian, Chinese, and other cuisines were commonplace, although I didn’t venture into the Middle Eastern ones. Anyone who has lived in Germany is aware of how many ways schnitzel is prepared. The basic meat is pork or veal and one of those is Rahm which is similar to country fried steak. In fact, the large German population in Texas introduced the meal with it changing from pork to cubed steak due to that cut of beef being more available. Our Publix doesn’t always have cubed pork and I noticed it the other day. I picked some up and that’s why Rahm Schnitzel is what we’re having for dinner. I admit I’m not making the sausage gravy from scratch and am using the prepared version instead.

Delays and Recovering…..

Air travel during the holidays is always subject to frustration and this year was no exception. Unfortunately, once again, what should have been the kids departing at 5:45 yesterday turned into much later with extra “airport time” because the exact departure time was a bit uncertain and better to be at the airport just in case. Anyway, it was after midnight when they managed to get to their condo and I’m assuming they were able to sleep in. That was part of the reason to fly them back Jan 1st; it allowed for one down day (today) in case of issues and trying to re-establish routine. It was a great visit though with perfect weather. Not as much pool time this trip due to other “adventures” and that was okay, too.

Hubby always laughs at me for buying too much food for the holidays although it doesn’t change that ingrained habit of mine. I’ll be distributing items among friends and neighbors over the next couple of days to get things back in order plus we will be creative with leftovers for most of the week. The only culinary disappointments for the kids was something really odd happened when they were supposed to have lunch at Chefs on the Run and they weren’t open. Also, Exit One didn’t work out schedule-wise, but we did go on to Capri which they were very happy with. Amelia and I still don’t eat sushi and Suvi has enough other choices so the kids got their “fix” the first night they were here. White Lion was the usual hit and with four people to share we were able to have the big brownie dessert. We would have had five sharing except granddaughter wanted a Sprinkles cookie which might also have been part of her breakfast the next morning. And there was the slice – well, slab really – of chocolate peanut butter cake that came home to be consumed the following afternoon.

Gap During the “Whirl”….

The good new is the kids were not delayed by much this year with their flight. It does tend to be “a whirl” of activity when they’re here. Part of that though is to allow “Mom and Dad” to sleep in as granddaughter is the other “early bird” in the family. She usually gets up around 7:00 and joins me to give them an extra hour or so. Then it’s a real breakfast and off for an adventure. The kicker is trying to make sure the day’s adventure gets them back in time for a pool session, then manage whatever dinner plans we have. Yesterday was extra tricky as they decided to go a greater distance than usual to Shark Valley, one of the parts of the Everglades to the west. One of our neighbors was coming to dinner and Hubby had to go get my new computer. It did all work out without much time to spare. The pool conditions weren’t the most comfortable – water is at 84 with the heater on – it’s the air when you get out that makes it less than ideal. With granddaughter’s latest growth spurt and the max depth of the pool at five feet, she can now go one-third the length and it isn’t over her head. She still doesn’t want to put her face in the water, but is good with dog paddle and can make the length in that way. Mom and Dad provide the audience and we did set a 30-minute limit which went just a little longer.

Suvi for sushi and Thai food was Tuesday night and we did pork tenderloin and chicken with sides here last night. Today is date day for the kids and if they get stirring in time, we’ll drop them off at the movies where they will catch as early show and then have a leisurely lunch at Chefs on the Run. Granddaughter and I have our own adventure planned. Hubby is of course working although he will be home in the afternoon. He’ll make the run to Publix to finish provisioning for Saturday’s party as I once again will do pool time. He has been in the cold water for days now teaching so I want to give him this break.

Planning Adventures…..

I have grocery list from daughter-in-law now and granddaughter’s favorites haven’t changed much, so will do the rest of the provisioning Monday. Am still keeping fingers crossed they have no significant flight delays as last year was really bad and we lost almost two days of visiting. With the horse/farm experience locked into place, that leaves them with two days for adventure as a three-some and one “date day” which they usually choose for a movie. Traffic is so bad going into the Keys this time of year, they might pass on doing anything down there. On the other hand, if they can be on the road by a little before 11:00, it can be more manageable.

Anyway, granddaughter has never been to Monkey Jungle or Coral Castle, both great places the kids haven’t been to for a while either. They did Everglades Outpost Wildlife Refugee last year and the regular Alligator Farm the year prior so those probably aren’t on the list. Granddaughter may want some repeats though and we can play everything by ear. We have not yet checked out Heritage Market now they have their main building open and their new menu looks terrific. Their coffee is allegedly some of the best around as is the reputation of their ice cream and sorbet. It may make it onto the list for something. The threatened cold front is arriving and all we can do is hope the short duration followed by sun and the normal 80 degree weather does follow while they are here. As I have mentioned, it will mostly impact pool time. We have laid in hot chocolate which tends to be needed post-pool even when the temperature is better.

I’m still chipping away at the multiple domestic house-prep tasks to do. Linens are all swapped out and only a few things left to clean.

Of Horses and Such……

I can’t claim to be a horse person as such although I appreciate them. Hubby, on the other hand, had bad experiences as a child and remains convinced they are always plotting to hurt humans. (That’s only a slight exaggeration). Anyway, I’ve mentioned Daddy grew up on a farm in rural Arkansas. Papaw had a horse that he used as both a plow horse for the twice a year prepping of the large garden and rode once or twice a day depending on which meadow he sent the cows to for grazing. Part of the fun in our visits was to sit on the fence in the later afternoon for “the round-up” when he would bring the cows in to the barn for the night. Giving us rides on Tony (the horse) was a bit of a process for him, but he would occasionally take time and let all of us have a turn around the fenced in area. I think the reason we never got into riding more was because a) that wasn’t the purpose of the horse and b) my oldest cousin did give it a try a few times and that didn’t go very well. (We weren’t around, but apparently the end result was a broken arm).

Moving on, when we were in Hawaii, I did take son for riding lessons and that continued briefly when we moved to Virginia. The lady giving the lessons relocated the horse and it wasn’t as convenient, plus son decided he was into other things. He did go on a couple of riding excursions on vacations, but never wanted more than that. In reality, “being into horses” definitely requires time and money, so that wasn’t something to urge him to reconsider. In looking at activities for the kids when they come after Christmas, I ran across the Redland Equestrian Center. They have a working farm as well as give regular lessons, etc., Granddaughter enjoyed going to the Pinto Farm a couple of years and this is kind of a “cut above”. It involves a two-hour tour of the farm, petting zoo, and so forth and a 20-minute guide-led horse/pony segment. That is, someone actually leads the horse/pony by the reins. I had sent the link to son and he said he thought they would enjoy. After having now booked them in, I realized I didn’t specifically ask daughter-in-law if she would. If the answer turns out to be “no”, she can let son and granddaughter do the horse part and share in the rest.

DEMA Trip, Day 4……

We made the decision to not stay for one of the sessions and came on back Thursday instead of Friday as originally intended. Hubby did have to run over before we left to get some shots of a particular rebreather they either carry at the dive shop or plan to – I wasn’t clear on that. We were on the road at the best time to be able to avoid peak traffic in Orlando and Miami. No weather issues either and made it back as smoothly as possible.

Our last night tradition is to dine at the Everglades, the fine dining restaurant at the Rosen. They have a beautiful large mural, another smaller one, sculptures of manatees and an alligator and a nice aquarium. The menu did not include venison this time and we both opted for seafood.They do make a delicious alligator chowder. Hubby had that as well as Chilean sea bass with tomato and artichoke infused risotto. I had the lobster bisque garnished with truffle and the swordfish with sauteed chard (gave that and the truffle to Hubby). It is the kind of place where they bring a dessert cart around and the coffee is served at the table in a French press. It is the one night we do share a dessert. There were fewer choices than in the past, however, the apple cheese cake was excellent. I’m still not quite sure how they did it because there were thinly sliced apples on bottom (similar to a tarte tartin). The topping was a lovely cinnamon apple sauce with walnuts.

It was a good trip as far as seeing several folks and meeting a few new ones. Hubby had a chance to talk to those about Horizon Divers and I gave out maybe a dozen bookmarks. The sessions we attended were good, too, and the only thing I didn’t accomplish was finding a t-shirt for granddaughter. There weren’t many booths with apparel this year. Finding an ocean-theme t-shirt around here for her isn’t difficult though.

DEMA Trip, Day 1……

Okay, not scuba fun as in diving; rather as in being part of the community. The Diving Equipment and Manufacturing Association trade show is not open to the public; only businesses and individuals in the dive industry. Interestingly, even though there is a category for writers as a member, this year’s registration was more restricted than in the past. Since Best Publishing (publishers of Mystery of the Last Olympian: Britannic, Titanic’s Tragic Sister) is not attending this year, I couldn’t tuck up under them. As a freelancer, I’m not on assignment with any publication, so I had to go in to get special clearance. The stipulation with me as Media is I write an article within 90 days and send them the link to publication. I periodically cover dive things for the South Dade News Leader and even though I didn’t clear it with them first, I’ll be doing an article about the Women’s Diving Hall of Fame. One of the members is Dr. Sally Bauer, the co-founder of the History of Diving Museum in Islamorada. More importantly than the “local” angle is part of their mission is to encourage women into the many aspects of a career in marine sciences, etc., as well as diving. There are some amazing women who have done incredible explorations, too. Anyway, more about that later.

Orlando Pointe, a shopping/entertainment/dining complex is about a 20-minute walk and we usually go there all but our last night when we dine at the fancy restaurant at the hotel. Unfortunately, it looks as if one of our favorites, The Funky Monkey Wine Bistro, didn’t make it through the closures. Ah well, there are other places and two new ones are listed. It was a very nice layout and perhaps one of the new places went into the “Monkey’s” spot.

We completed registration this afternoon for the show and now I have to look through the schedule to see what I want to attend tomorrow.

Georgia Trip Finishing Up…..

The last part of the visit was the gathering at Hubby’s cousin’s and by the final count there were 18 of us; three generations worth. The third–generation kids enjoyed the pool of course and second generation heard some new and some old stories. Each of them are well established now with careers; a mix of families and “living single and loving it”. We hope perhaps in the fall to make a big loop and go up to Huntsville to see the dear friends who weren’t able to make the reunion, then swing back down for another Georgia visit. We’ll see if that happens.

The trip back was as smooth as could be with only a couple of short showers, no major accidents or construction delays. Even the anticipated slowdown with hitting Miami around 5:00 wasn’t as bad as it could have been. It was basically 11 hours that included necessary stops. We keep those as brief as possible and I have made notes in my phone of the best Turnpike/I-75 exits. “Best” in this case means easy access to a fast food place and gas station, Brand loyalty takes second priority to access, so Wendy’s won out this trip.

It’s a full week ahead and of course I worked some while we were gone, but that’s always the case when I travel.