Cashing In

I sat sipping my coffee, reading Chaos (Cornwell), and thinking about all of the high priced lab tools, helicopters, and Italian sports cars she likes to pepper her story with. High priced.

So that brought me back to last night. Mom, Deb, Elaine and I decided to cash in our winnings from last Monday's Trivia. Our second place got us $50 worth of food and drink from the Ace Hotel.

As I walked into the Amigo Bar, I was able to see more of the decor because there were few people there. We had arrived early enough to ensure getting our own booth. The brick walls were painted with midnight black and each booth's back wall had a very large mirror ensconced in an archway nook. It looked like a scene from Caberet. Bella da Ball greeted us warmly, further adding to my feeling that Joel Gray would be coming out of the pool room soon.

Anyone caught using a cell phone during Trivia would be summarily thrown into the pool -- along with the cell phone. Those are the rules and we abided by them.

Happily, clutching our $50 gift certificate, we ordered 2 wines, a beer, a Jameson's, and a coffee. (I needed caffeine before I had any sleepy-making beverage.)

They guys in the booth next to us if I would take a picture of them, which I happily obliged. When I got back, everyone at the table was giggling. This was the cause of the merriment:

So there went our winnings! After a short while, the waiter came back and informed us that the two guys next door had bought us the next round of drinks!! Yes, it was a very merry night and Deb bought the guys their next round. They weren't driving and Deb's two beers over two hours didn't impair her. A good time was had by all.  Oh, yes. We won SECOND place this time! We got theater tickets for Mom, passing up on the drink/food certificate ...

Pow Wow

Mom, Deb, and I went to the Fantasy Springs Casino to attend the Cabazon Tribes' Pow Wow. After his time at the gym, Paul put the pre-stuffed turkey in the oven. (I had made the stuffing the night before, so it was cool when I stuffed the turkey.) It was an overcast Saturday, but we were in high spirits.

The dancers took the floor in small groups, ever widening the circle.

Here the drummers (one of four groups of drummers) are working up to increasing the beat. The ends of their drum sticks had big white furry parts which made the blurring in the picture even more pronounced. 

They are not at the heart of their song because, as you can see, all of the men are not singing. I think the big guy has just started. Their music, while deafeningly loud did not make me cover my ears. It washed over me, covering my body in sound and rhythm that seemed to seep into my pores and transport me to a place of calm.

Their song, which could be heard by some as "yelling," affected me in the same way that a cantor's song had at a funeral. It touched my soul and I became one with the music.

Eventually, the floor was covered in dancers -- perhaps 200 people. 

The dance went on for a long time -- they alternated drums after about 7 minutes or so of unending drumming. It was most impressive. 

There were many vendors of Indian crafts.

Oh, and we had lunch at Pom, the Fantasy Springs casino restaurant.

This is just a small section of the waterfalls there. Each brick juts out about a half inch from the one on top, ensuring that the water sprays in this artistic fashion. This is one side of the outdoor pool area which has many plantings and is very beautiful.

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Paul took a group shot at Thanksgiving. That's Clara on the far left and you know the rest of us!

Where to Begin?

So, of course, I'll begin with now: 5 a.m. having just kissed Emily goodbye. She should be in Boston around 6 p.m. for her drive to Worcester. Deb is wonderful and is driving her to the airport.

Yesterday was a wonderful Thanksgiving for all of us. We went to 360 North and I had delicious prime rib. I'll be cooking a turkey tomorrow.

Deb and Paul

Emily and Tina

Elaine and Brian

The picture that I took of Mom and Clara came out so badly that if I published it, the two of them would argue to see who beat me. Deb did take some group pictures of all of us, so I have my fingers crossed that they are more acceptable. It's too bad that we forgot to re-take Mom and Clara because they both looked so good.

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Deb and Paul did a 3 mile walk/run that benefited the Mizel Senior Center. After the walk, they got a medallion. Before the race, they got a shirt and the hat below. Paul wouldn't let Deb wear her medallion to Thanksgiving dinner. I don't think she wanted to wear the hat. It's a great hat -- it's fuzzy to the touch.

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Oh yes, did you notice how short my hair is? Michael, the hairdresser, was accosted by a friend and his partner who insisted they had made an appointment. He agreed to squeeze the guy in, but my haircut was downhill all the way from there. It's lucky I don't have a crew cut.

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Yes, it really is nice being under the stars! We went to the pool yesterday after dinner. We left before it was this dark (the pic is from a couple of nights ago).
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Emily and I went to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them at the Mary Pickford Theater. Here are some of the sights there (that's also where the balloon and fountain of a previous post are).

Holiday Lights

My Favorite Fountain; There's Another Spitting Lizard on the Right Facing This One

He's Happily Playing

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I can't believe I have been here for almost a week. I'm almost through with Led Astray by Kate Flora. It's another Joe Burgess mystery and I'm loving every minute of it. I left the other Crime Bake books home because they are too heavy to carry. Lo and behold, Deb brought Christmas presents and she gave me a Patricia Cornwell! (Chaos.) Woo hoo!

My second batch of blueberry muffins came out better -- using the right oven temp and fewer blueberries worked. I made some with fresh strawberries too. These are with low carbohydrate baking mix. The low carb bread that I had delivered here is not worth it. As Deb said about the taste, "Something's not right." Oh well, live and learn. 

I finally seem to be getting the knack of knitting on a "wire" needle. Everybody says, "What are you making?" I'm going to have to come up with a better answer than, "I'm practicing, trying to get better." But that's the truth. I figure if I can't do the basics (knit, purl), why try to go on? Nobody here seems to remember how to crochet so I'm going to have to try U Tube for lessons on that. I've already been told that I should have a pattern and it will tell me the size of the needle and what yarn, etc. I already feel like somebody on the bunny slope with the full ski/apres ski regalia since I bought 3 (count 'em) crochet hooks. (They were in a package that way and I liked the fact that the different sizes give me options.)

Well, it's 6 a.m. and time to go back to bed. Maybe I'll take a blueberry muffin with me ...

Hello from Sunny Palm Springs, California!!

[That's pronounced Cali-forn-eye-ay.] The trip here was miserable only because it started at 3 a.m. and because I just now (a day and a half later) have some relief from the worst sinus pain I have had in years. Apparently, massive doses of ibuprophen and Airborne have helped -- along with hot washcloths to my face!

I witnessed a rainbow this a.m. as the sun was coming up. 

It's pretty hard to see, but it's right in the middle of this photo. My little camera phone didn't pick it up too well. Below on the left is Deb and Paul's cute rental in Mom's driveway. Then it was off to Cathedral City to see hot air balloons. The sculpture on the right is in the little shopping area where we parked.

There was one (count 'em) balloon. And it was tethered. Apparently, we missed all of the other balloons yesterday and the day before. Oh, well, we had fun strolling around.

There were vendors, including one selling Maine lobster. Hats anyone?

Well how about a refreshment stand while you watch football? Those are team names on the flask and there are two shot glasses for your convenience.

Children were frolicking in this fountain when we got there, but by the time I took this, they were drying off. (It was about 70 F.)

Another vendor had sugar skull candle holders and many football and baseball logo stuff such as stained glass windows, blankets, and backpacks. Who knew there was such a market for sports logo'd stuff?

 This balloon just floated right out of the girls' hands! Yes, Deb has her Patriots shirt on. After this, we went to a local sports bar to eat, drink, and watch the Patriots.

Yup, you are looking at a woman hanging upside down on a piece of cloth. Deb knew about it -- said this is the latest "yoga" fitness craze. I don't think so ...

We're back from lunch and a couple of drinky poos. I got to see the first Pats' touch down. Couldn't believe the guy missed the kick. If I knew how to turn on Mom's tv, I might watch the rest, but since everyone else is sleeping ... I might join them. Deb and Paul stayed at the grill to watch the whole game. There might be some adult beverages involved too. They will walk back. Or perhaps stroll back to their rental in Mom's complex. 

Slow Sunday

I am moving slowly today because, gosh darn it, I'm tired. 

Last Thursday was the wake for my stepmother, Shirley Gebo DeFeo. Even though she was 87, it took us all by surprise. The funeral Mass, graveside prayers, and mercy meal were on Friday. I stayed in Methuen through Saturday afternoon.

Below is my father's headstone and Shirley will be added. 

After everything was over and Sherylann and I got to take our black jackets off, we had this picture taken. My sister is a hair dresser and she has a second job working for a beauty supply warehouse.

Later on, a neighbor took a picture of us while we were still dressed up. On the left is my brother, Stephen with his wife, Grace. In the center back is my niece, Kelsey, with her Mom (Sherylann) in front of her. Tom on the right of Kelsey is Kelsey's Dad and I'm on the far right ... it was a coincidence that both Sherylann and I wore purple. However, she is so absolutely nuts about the color purple, she probably wears it every. I know that she has at least 4 purple handbags. While I was puttering around in the kitchen, I noticed that her knives (in a block) are purple and she has at least one purple pot.

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After Sherylann had gone to work on Saturday and I was puttering around in the kitchen, I noticed that I had cut into Chloe's nap time. She fixed that! Chloe is a love of a rotti and if you are not patting her, she wants you to hold her paw.

I didn't get any pictures of Shadow, the cat, but he's a nice grey all over. He knows that my brother Steve doesn't like him. So when Steve came over for lunch on Saturday, Shadow made a nice nest in Steve's jacket and took a nap oblivious to Steve yelling at him to move. Ha!

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Ann and Phyllis came over for lunch today and we had a lovely pot roast and twice baked cauliflower.  I signed into FaceBook to show Ann some pictures only to discover that there is another Tina Swift and the twit has been posting her pictures to my timeline. I couldn't figure out how to delete them, but the first one is someone sighting a shotgun ... It said, "Do you want to block Tina?" Uh, no. 

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I love my new car! I got it inspected yesterday.

It's a 2014 Honda Accord hybrid. I'm still learning the buttons and gizmos. But I really like the heated seats!!

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I know, I know, I said no more knitting. I think I'm kind of addicted -- particularly since other people are bringing in their leftover yarn! This piece is about 8 inches by 22 inches.

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This coming weekend is the CrimeBake. I can hardly wait!