Say it isn't so!

No Lloyd, you can't leave us!!!!



Our neighborhood butcher is retiring and moving to Arizona ... THIS FRIDAY!!! A tragedy of epic proportions for those of us who know its really summer when we smell the Kalbi Flank Steaks permeates the neighborhood. Mary and I were reminising on how many times we walked into Stadium Thriftway without a clue what we would make for dinner. We'd walk straight back to the meat department, beg Lloyd for answers to our dilema and viola' inspiration! Sigh. Lloyd always picks out the best turkeys for holidays, can talk you through the cooking process with ease and if you called ahead would marinate the Kalbi Flank Steaks for days just for you for that extra kick of flavor. Sure the new guy Dave, looks nice, has Lloyd's blessing and will probably do a good job. He's just not Lloyd.

Lloyd, enjoy Arizona & your kids & grandkids who live there. How you could choose them over us, still a mystery to us (we'd keep you and kick our own families to the curb in a heartbeat, right Mary?)! BTW Mitch, next year for spring training, you are staying home and watching the kids, Mary and I will be heading to Arizona for Bar-b-que!!!

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!!

This blog was named for two of my greatest passions (and tatoos) Artichokes & Pink Martini.




Without further adieu, it is my most extreme pleasure to announce Pink Martini's 3rd CD, "Hey Eugene" available in stores (are you sitting down????) May 15, 2007.



I would have been thrilled with an October 2007 release, but this news has totally taken me by surprise!!!



The songs on the new album are:
1. Everywhere
2. Tempo Perdido
3. Mar Desconocido
4. Taya Tan
5. City of Night
6. Ojala
7. Bukra wba'do
8. Cante e Dance
9. Hey Eugene
10. Syracuse
11. Dosvedanya Mio Bombino
12. Tea for Two




My two favorites are "Hey Eugene" (of course, we were devasted when it wasn't on Hang on Little Tomato) and "Dosvedanya Mio Bombino", a tale of love and loss on a distinctly Russian/Italian theme.




CD release concert, Wednesday, May 16th at the Arlene Schnitzer (I just love saying that) in Portland .... See you there!

World Curling Championship

Spring Training has just begun, College Basketball is heading to the Final Four, while the greatest championship of all is being played out in Aomori, Japan. That's right, you guessed it curling. Now if you haven't been bitten by the curling bug yet, boy do I have a treat for you!



I have the great pleasure of knowing some of these star athletes. They don't play for the fame, fortune or even the beer. They play for the shear love of the sport. Kyle, Bryan and Doug, so legendary in the sport, you don't need to mention their last names. Unfortunately the true superstar, Mitch, is resting on the sidelines and manning the camera to make this fine demonstration video.

You may ask, are these Curling Giants representing Tacoma in Japan this weekend. Sadly, no. Not because they lack skill and talent, they do lack other important qualities ... Aomori, Japan is host to the Women's World Curling Championship.

Fun in the Sun!

Are you tired of winter yet? Well our ol' buddy Mitch was tired of the grey and rain so he flew the coop. Abandoning his wife and children to be with the great love of his life, the White Sox in Tucson, Arizona. On Thursday he just had to send me a picture via his camera phone and a weather report. It was 96 degrees in Tucson.



Today before his last game he was hob nobbin' with the stars. James Denton, aka Mike Defino on the TV show Desperate Housewives. Denton started his acting career in Chicago (somebody should have told him the Cubbies play in Chicago too). Now the question is, will Mitch still be talking to the little people back in the neighborhood? Only time will tell.

Zoo day!

Saturday is a great day to go to the Pt. Defiance Zoo. My friends Peter and JT have been planning this outing for more than a month. Yikes! Boys look out for that ferocious tiger before he swallows you both.



The real tiger at the zoo was pretty cranky. Not sure if he didn't like the looks of the grey sky or slept on the wrong side of the rock. Just very glad there was a whole lot of fencing and a water feature between us.



JT liked the elephant a lot. The elephant was definitely more friendly than the tiger.



Aren't these guys cute? All dressed up and no where to go. I'm sure they have big plans for St. Patty's Day.



JT made a good friend with this polar bear. They must have stood on either side of this window for a solid 10 minutes. Not sure that JT's Mom would want him to bring this cuddly bear home as pet. Kids and animals, it doesn't get any better than that.

PORTLAND, finally!!!

Blogger is speaking to me again ... YEAH!!!

Last weekend, my wonderful neighbors Mitch & Mary invited me to go to Portland (twist my arm) with them. The main reason was to go see Susan Werner. Susan is a fabulous musician, singer, writer, etc. She is also from Manchester, Iowa the midwest hotbed of artistic talent (and only 9 miles away from The Field of Dreams). Isn't that were Mary Boone grew up? I do believe that Mary & Susan were high school classmates.



The other great reason was to meet the famous Debbie and Steve from Portland. It seems that Mitch and Mary have actual friends. Of course they live in a different state, probably why they get along so well. Debbie and Steve are fabulous people, fun, easy going and very intelligent (did I mention that they are regular readers of this blog???)






Susan is an amazing musician. If you haven't heard her, go listen right now to her song My Strange Nation, her alternative national anthem. Make sure that you listen to clips of her other albums. Or just run out an buy her brand new album The Gospel Truth. It is very smart and honest and maybe not at all what you would expect from a gospel album. But I am sure you will really enjoy it.



After the concert we went next door to Mississippi Station for dinner & some quality time with the star. We enjoyed Susan so much, I can't tell you. She was very easy to talk to (must be that Iowa in her) and very fun (probably thanks to some her fabulous travels post Iowa). And when she talked about going to India, I thought Katie was going to jump on the tour bus and leave with her. Thank you Mitch and Mary for a great experience.



And thank you Debbie for some truly awesome chocolate. Lucky for us, Debbie gave up chocolate for Lent. Which means that she gets her chocolate fix by going to her favorite chocolate emporium, breathing deeply and buying gifts for friends. Oh we are soooooo fortunate to be her friends. Anyone been to Puddin' River? Well, ya gotta go if you love chocolate. If you just like chocolate, go to Puddin' River and you will love chocolate. I would instruct you to start licking your computer screen right now, but just wouldn't be the same. So trust me, if you have never bought anything on line ever, chocolates from Puddin' River would be a great start. If you are a regular online shopper, throw some Puddin' River Chocolate into the mix & you will never regret it.

my extreme apologies

To all of my loyal blog watchers (both of you). My most humble apologies for my lack of updates. Usually, I get a bit backed up when I am too busy or stressed. Both have been the case over the past two weeks. So tonight I have attempted to beg your forgiveness with some catch up posting. I have been blogging my brains out for the past two hours and blogspot refuses to load any of my pictures (rude). I am hoping this is just a blogspot issue for tonight. Keep your fingers crossed that we will be back in business tomorrow. Thanks for your continued support.