God, I love it here. I am sitting on my patio, the sun has just come up, the birds are chirping, the rabbits are munching (I have long ago stopped trying to take pictures of the rabbits. They just don't show up on the grass. And why do we have grass in the desert in the midst of a drought, you might well ask. Ah, that is a story for another time)....
Okay, that settles it. I have to get a better camera.
In any event, it was a very typical week in the desert. Picked up friend Robin and her husband Grant from the airport (the happy faces when the Snowbirds look up at the sun is worth the price of admission), And before driving them home to La Quinta we stopped for our now (3rd year) traditional deli brunch at Sherman's (best deli west of New York, in my opinion, although I can't really speak for Chicago)...
And what did we eat, you might ask? They had a pastrami Ruben and potato salad, and coconut pie; I had cold beet borscht with boiled potato and sour cream on the side - good Eastern European peasant food.
I had promised myself that this season, what with my newly renovated kitchen and all, I was only going to eat out once a week Well, that promise was soon broken (let's see how I do next week....) Friend Ken and I did our "rain check" dinner (see previous post) on Wednesday evening. I did keep one promise - to entertain at home more, same reason. I laid in some nibblies, had the martini glasses, gin and vermouth chilled, and we had cocktails at home, before heading up the street to Las Tablitas for my first bit of Mexican....
This spot has previously been seen in these pages, and it remains one of my favourite "low end" Mexican joints. However, the troubling trend continues - when we came in, the question was "Mexican or sushi?". This is probably the third or fourth place in town that serves both, the restaurants actually divided in half so that sushi chefs don't have to deal with salsa! What is that about, I ask you? (And no, I did not have the sushi.....)
Ken and I had a good time catching up, both on recent events and our pasts (martinis, followed by margaritas, are good for those kinds of confidences). Ken is a person well worth knowing, and I hope to get to know him better this season.
And what would a week be - anywhere - without bridge? Robin and I played at the Duncan Bridge Center on Thursday. coming in 4th overall with a 59.8% score. (I know that doesn't count for much in law school, but it is not bad for bridge - the highest I've seen is 72%!) We scored some points too.
I played again on Friday, this time at Mizell Seniors Center. I didn't have a partner, and went on spec. They are lovely people there, though (albeit a bit old, as I suppose could be expected in a senior center!), and readily found me a partner. Although we didn't place, we came close, and, more to the point, had a great time.
What else? The usual running around when changing locations, getting infrastructure and software functioning (although, as these things go, I have precious little of that; neighbor Michael generally makes sure that everything is tikkity boo by the time I get here), and I really don't mind running around doing errands, with the top down in the balmy air.....
Oh, and did I say I was reading? I might have mentioned last time a book of short stories, titled Mr. Bones, by Paul Theroux. I love short stories, although these were rather dark, considering my mood. Then there was a Martha Grimes mystery (I didn't think there were any of those I hadn't read, but apparently I missed one....). three medieval mysteries by Ellis Peters (pieces of fluff, really, but I love them), and, finally, some serious stuff as well, Michael Lewis's Flash Boys and Thomas L. Friedman (yes, the guy who writes for the New York Times), Hot, Flat and Crowded. Neither of the latter two are "new" anymore (the sharp ones among you might have noticed that I had started the Lewis book before I left the desert in May) but both well worth reading. Lewis, of course, is (in my opinion) the best financial writer of all times (he can not only say the market is rigged, he can explain it so that a layman can understand), and Friedman ditto for all things political and sociological.
So, all told, I am quite content, out here on my patio on a Saturday morning. Now, for another cup of coffee...
Okay, that settles it. I have to get a better camera.
In any event, it was a very typical week in the desert. Picked up friend Robin and her husband Grant from the airport (the happy faces when the Snowbirds look up at the sun is worth the price of admission), And before driving them home to La Quinta we stopped for our now (3rd year) traditional deli brunch at Sherman's (best deli west of New York, in my opinion, although I can't really speak for Chicago)...
And what did we eat, you might ask? They had a pastrami Ruben and potato salad, and coconut pie; I had cold beet borscht with boiled potato and sour cream on the side - good Eastern European peasant food.
I had promised myself that this season, what with my newly renovated kitchen and all, I was only going to eat out once a week Well, that promise was soon broken (let's see how I do next week....) Friend Ken and I did our "rain check" dinner (see previous post) on Wednesday evening. I did keep one promise - to entertain at home more, same reason. I laid in some nibblies, had the martini glasses, gin and vermouth chilled, and we had cocktails at home, before heading up the street to Las Tablitas for my first bit of Mexican....
This spot has previously been seen in these pages, and it remains one of my favourite "low end" Mexican joints. However, the troubling trend continues - when we came in, the question was "Mexican or sushi?". This is probably the third or fourth place in town that serves both, the restaurants actually divided in half so that sushi chefs don't have to deal with salsa! What is that about, I ask you? (And no, I did not have the sushi.....)
Ken and I had a good time catching up, both on recent events and our pasts (martinis, followed by margaritas, are good for those kinds of confidences). Ken is a person well worth knowing, and I hope to get to know him better this season.
And what would a week be - anywhere - without bridge? Robin and I played at the Duncan Bridge Center on Thursday. coming in 4th overall with a 59.8% score. (I know that doesn't count for much in law school, but it is not bad for bridge - the highest I've seen is 72%!) We scored some points too.
I played again on Friday, this time at Mizell Seniors Center. I didn't have a partner, and went on spec. They are lovely people there, though (albeit a bit old, as I suppose could be expected in a senior center!), and readily found me a partner. Although we didn't place, we came close, and, more to the point, had a great time.
What else? The usual running around when changing locations, getting infrastructure and software functioning (although, as these things go, I have precious little of that; neighbor Michael generally makes sure that everything is tikkity boo by the time I get here), and I really don't mind running around doing errands, with the top down in the balmy air.....
Oh, and did I say I was reading? I might have mentioned last time a book of short stories, titled Mr. Bones, by Paul Theroux. I love short stories, although these were rather dark, considering my mood. Then there was a Martha Grimes mystery (I didn't think there were any of those I hadn't read, but apparently I missed one....). three medieval mysteries by Ellis Peters (pieces of fluff, really, but I love them), and, finally, some serious stuff as well, Michael Lewis's Flash Boys and Thomas L. Friedman (yes, the guy who writes for the New York Times), Hot, Flat and Crowded. Neither of the latter two are "new" anymore (the sharp ones among you might have noticed that I had started the Lewis book before I left the desert in May) but both well worth reading. Lewis, of course, is (in my opinion) the best financial writer of all times (he can not only say the market is rigged, he can explain it so that a layman can understand), and Friedman ditto for all things political and sociological.
So, all told, I am quite content, out here on my patio on a Saturday morning. Now, for another cup of coffee...
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