HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Hope you get lot of treat and no bad trick ... Happy Halloween!!!

WE FORGOT TO WEAR FLOWERS IN OUR HAIR (IN SAN FRANCISCO)

 You did not think we would leave our Benjamin at home, did you?

 Actually, Benjamin reminded us about wearing flowers in our hair but after a few tries, the flowers kept falling off Benjamin's "hair".  Besides, we thought with the flowers on his hair, Benjamin might give the "wrong impression" to those around that he was actually a "Jasmine".

 Benjamin all smiling after a wonderful Dim Sum in Chinatown.

 In keeping up with the timeless classic. "I left my heart in San Francisco", there are heart sculptures on display throughout the city.  These photos were taken at Union Square.  I saw a few others but I was either holding on to the pole for dear life while standing on the running board of the cable car or I did not care much for what was painted.

 San Francisco was a nice place to visit.  We sure enjoyed our time there but we did not leave our hearts in SF.  After almost 18+ years of living in St. Louis, our hearts belong in the Show-Me State.

BENJAMIN AND BENJAMIN

Benjamin found his long-lost twin when we were at an estate sale last Sunday.  It was so comical when my husband and I both yelled out, "Look!  Benjamin's long-lost twin" - (not really loud but enough for those around us to hear).  So we had to explain our (strange) excitement upon seeing a smiling yellow beanie baby.
Even though they are identical twin, we could tell which one is Benjamin NYC and which is Benjamin STL.  NYC has longer "hair" and leans backward, unable to sit up due to "an accident" (being dropped while TOTA was walking across a five-lane road - at Manchester and Ries).
STL has shorter hair and still has the same pose for when he used to play hockey for the Boston Bruins.
Talk about the Bruins - I am still stunned that the Bruins lost game 6 last night.  I did not really care whether the Hawks or the Bruins won the Cup.  As a hockey fanatic, I could not believe that the Bruins, leading the entire game, yet could not hold on - how long is 1 minute and 26 seconds?  It is less than a minor (2-minute) penalty.  The Hawks scored 2 goals within 17 seconds in the 3rd period and won the Cup because the Bruins fell apart!
My husband suggested that we get a cake to celebrate both Benjamin NYC and STL "unofficial" birthday and also the Hawks winning the Stanley Cup.  I think Ralphie just wanted to eat cake!

BENJAMIN SINGING "MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME"

Benjamin is very happy since he got a big payout today from the bet on the horse named "ORB" to Win, Place and Show.  Well, ORB ran around the muddy track to win the 139th Kentucky Derby race and now Benjamin is on his way to collect the money from "Owen the Big Bookie"!  (These photos were taken from our Bourbon Trail road trip last September.)

It has been raining the last three days.  It was sunny and comfortable on Thursday morning but became cloudy when I came home late afternoon from a seminar that provided free lunch.  (My husband makes fun of how I only go to events, especially open house at retirement homes, just to get free lunch.  He said that I knocked down old ladies when the dessert tray being passed around.  I told him that desperate time calls for desperate action.  Being unemployed, I have to do whatever I could to survive and to put cookies in my mouth!).

Good thing I brought a sweater with me since it was cold in the library.  This week, we had a research assignment instead of the regular class.  It was pouring and in the lower 40s when I walked from the library to the parking lot.  It rained all day on Friday.  I stayed home, completed and submitted both the library research paper and civil trial assignment.  I allowed myself a break watching recap of the Stanley Cup playoffs games.  Then back to getting ready for the final exams next week.
It rained in the morning and stopped but remained cloudy.  We stayed home all day.  In between studying, I tried to reorganized the storage area in the basement, getting ready for the next shredding event.  I found a lot of interesting items and will be sharing what I found walking down the memory lane. 

BENJAMIN AND THE ELECTRIC BLUES

Once upon the time I used to create "Where is Benjamin?" posts for my nephew to find since he enjoys the I Spy game.  It was too easy for JL as I could not find creative ways to make it more interesting (it is difficult for Benjamin to blend into the background with his bright yellow body and an attractive smiling face).  As you could see from the above photo of Benjamin sitting in a bed of colorful flowers at Lynn's Paradise Cafe in Louisville, KY, that he not exactly difficult to spot.

Inside the gift shop there are plenty of quirky and strange looking items (above) and wacky decor, fun things for the kids to do and play. 

What a real trooper that Benjamin was!  Even though he was feeling rather blue (because we would not let him open the 14-year old bottle of bourbon for a sip), Benjamin still smiles brightly while singing "Tell me who do you love?  Tell me what love has to do with it?"

BENJAMIN IN PARADISE

Benjamin at Lynn's Paradise Cafe that is!  You could see that Benjamin was still full of spirits from tasting all the bourbon at Wild Turkey as he did a "look Ma no hands" hanging on a golf lamp on the counter at Lynn's Paradise Cafe.  There are other funky looking lamps around the gift shops but I did not take any photos because it would not be appropriate to show these "adult content" lamps being that this is a family-oriented blog!

Congratulations to the St. Louis Cardinals on advancing to the National League Championship Series.  (Alisa, I was too quick with my prediction when I posted the comment on your blog.  The Cardinals was down 3-6 bottom of the 5th so I thought they would be eliminated.  They came back and beat the Nationals 9-7.)  I also spoke too early when I said to my husband that my NY Yankees will kick his Detroit Tigers' butt in the American League Championship Series.  Well, the Yankess loss the first two games in NY and with Derek Jeter out for season (ankle), I am not sure if there is any hope for the Yankees!

Regular readers probably noticed that I have not mentioned about the NHL lockout (again), all the games cancelled thru October 24th.  I am fine at this point but I am not sure what I would do when football season is over.  I think about it tomorrow!  Talk about football, my beloved Patriots loss to the Seahawks 23-24 in a very upsetting game yesterday, especially Patriots had 13-point lead with eight minutes left in the 4th.  Brady threw two interceptions, a few missed throws and safeties too deep in the play allowing Seahawks to throw and run the ball. 

Last week was the Knights of Columbus 2012 Annual Tootsie Roll Drive.  I helped on Thursday and Friday and both of us helped on Saturday and Sunday as well as after 10:15 Mass.  On Sunday, it was windy in the morning but we had clear blue sky and sunny in the afternoon.  Halloween decoration already is in full swing as I saw a few houses in our neighborhood got "t-ping" (toilet paper on the trees).  I wonder how this sort of prankster got started.  It is a waste of useful resource.  If only I could tell these kids what we had to do without toilet paper in the refugee camp.  We had to walk miles and miles to get to a spot in the wood, do our business and then .............

BOTTOM UP (BENJAMIN HAD A GOOD TIME IN OLD KENTUCKY HOME)

As you could see, Benjamin had a great time (big smile) when he accompanied us on our Labor Day weekend, a short 3-day (Saturday, Sunday and Monday) road trip to Old Kentucky Home.  We left St. Louis on Saturday, Sept. 1st at 8:31 after filling up the gas tank on the Mustang.  Gas price was $3.87 for mid-grade.  (The T-bird must have premium and that is another reason why we take the Pony instead.)  We took breaks for a quick breakfast, at rest stops, and continued driving until 14:07 and decided that it was time for lunch in Round Hill, Kentucky.  We got to Mammoth Cave in Cave City, KY around 15:31.   The rain started just as we were walking down into the cave.  It was an interesting tour but I might have been "over-caved" (is there such a word?) because we just saw Ruby Falls (inside a cave) in Tennessee in July.   After Mammoth Cave, we continued on and beddown in Louisville, KY at 21:52.  (We planned to stay at the Wigwam Motel #2 in Cave City, KY but that did not happen.  It was a long story so I will have to explain in another post.) 

Next day (Sunday, Sept. 2nd) we attended 0900 Mass at St. Ritas Church in Louisville, KY.  It was sunny when we left the church but became cloudy by the time we got to Jim Bean in Clermont, KY.    While waiting for the tour to start at noon, we sat in the rocking chairs on the front porch of the historic home where three generations of the Beams lived way back when.  On display inside the house were family photos and heirlooms.  By the time we walked over to Warehouse D, the oldest rack house built by Jim Beam after prohibition, the rain were pouring so hard that we were stucked inside with nothing to do except looking at Kentucky's finest bourbon aging in 20,000 oak barrels!     

We were cold and hungry by the time we drove into Bardstown, KY.  USA Today and Rand McNalley named Bardstown one of the Most Beautiful Small Towns in America.  Bardstown was also mentioned in the book, "1,000 Places to See Before You Die".  Well, we did not see much because the rain was pouring.  We could not find a restaurant that was open along 3rd Street in the beautiful downtown Bardstown because it was 1300 hour on a Sunday and a holiday.  Someone might have taken a picture of me with rain dripping down begging "Sweet Mama" to let me in at Mammy's Kitchen!  We finally found a restaurant that was open for lunch, across from My Old Kentucky Home State Park.  Next stop was Wild Turkey Distillery in Lawrenceburg, KY.  (to be continued)   

BENJAMIN IS BACK (BY POPULAR DEMAND)

Benjamin is back by popular demand from "millions" of comments and a strong campaign organized by Qaptain Qwerty.  It was truly a touching gesture to show Benjamin that he was not forgotten or tossed aside like an old toy!  Above is Benjamin at Stone Mountain Park in Georgia. 

Here is Benjamin (a bit dark/tanned from being out in the sun) before boarding the Great Smoky Mountain train ride.

Safer in number - Mitchell, Benjamin and JoJo "riding" along in the Mayberry patrol car.

 Last Friday (August 17th) I had another vertigo episode.  The first time I experienced this strange feeling of "spinning" was a little over 2+ years ago and the second time was early last year.  This time, the incident happened after a busy week with many meetings at work and also a few evening activities.  I was feeling fine up to around 3:15 p.m.  We had a 1:00 p.m. meeting and when the meeting was over, I got up from the chair and almost fell over.  No one saw or even if they did, they probably thought I was just being clumsy.  I managed to walk back to my office, but the dizziness combined with nausea and stomach pains continued.  I decided to inform my supervisor and then call my husband to come and pick me up.  Good thing CP was off that afternoon and just came home from a round of golf.  We called my family doctor on the way home and went straight to Doc, expecting the worst.  Of course, I felt so silly after the exam, Doc told me that it was just another episode of vertigo.  I kept apologizing for keeping Doc and his assistant working past 5pm on Friday.  When we got home, I was able to got rid of "lunch" or whatever that did not agree with my stomach and immediately felt better.  After a few hours of rest, the dizziness went away.  I took it easy the whole weekend, cancelled most of the plans and only attended the company picnic. 

I am pleased to report that we won a prize from the picnic.  It was a Cuisinart Countertop Cooking Slow Cooker.  The Crock-pot comes with a 6.5 quart oval ceremic pot, glass lid, cooking rack, stainless steel housing with cooking time display, timer control, indicator lights for cooking and warming settings.  A cookbook was also included.  I am ready to do some serious cooking - haa haa!

ROCK PAPER SCISSORS

When Benjamin saw the above sign "Rock Paper Scissors", he asked me what it was about. I explained that it was the name of a store selling paper products like greeting cards, supplies for scrapbooks, and anything "papertry". I also mentioned that "Rock Paper Scissors" is a universal game which I remembered playing when I was a child in Viet Nam. For adults, it is a way to settle a bet or to decide winner and loser.
Then Benjamin asked me how the game is played. I explained that there are usually two players, each either put his hand behind his back or shake his hand a number of times, then put the same hand out either in a fist (rock), out flat (paper) or with the index and middle figures extended, either pressed together or slightly apart (scissors). Winning is decided based on the following rules - paper wins against rock (paper covers rock), rock wins against scissors (rock crushes scissors) and scissors wins against paper (scissors cut paper). I told Benjamin that I had wonderful childhood memory playing this game because it was a lot of fun. Then Benjamin extended his two yellow hands -------------------

BENJAMIN AT WORLD OF COCA COLA

Benjamin was high on sugar after tasting all 60 flavors of drinks from around the world!

This is the lobby and waiting area before the tour. Behind Benjamin are sculptures of supposely coke bottles painted with the faces of happy "drinkers" from various countries in all the countries/continents, speficially from China, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

Benjamin and Dr. John S. Pemberton raised their glasses to make a toast for peace and happiness in the world.

FRIDAY "DEVIL TOWER" SKY

"A brave man is a man who dares to look the Devil in the face and tell him he is a Devil." Benjamin must have felt so brave (not a yellow belly) when he recited this quote by James A. Garfield while looking sort-of up at the Devils Tower. I thought these photos from our trip in September would be appropriate for this Friday before Halloween.

After Sturgis-South Dakota, we continued to follow I-90 and then US-14 to Devils Tower National Monument in Wyomong. This landmark in the Bear Lodge Mountain could be seen from far away. It rose approximately 1,300 feet above the Belle Fourche River and over 5,000 above sea level. The Tower was the result of a volcanic uplift that took place almost 40 millions years ago.

Pieces of broken columns, boulders, small and large rocks at the base of the Tower. Some of the erosion were clearly visible. I started to get a bit nervous when I saw a rather large crack on the side of the Tower as if ready to fall off. My husband said we just had to get ready to run as fast as our feet could carry us!

I never saw the movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Now that we visited the Devils Tower, I plan to watch the movie to we could carry on the tradition of saying, "We were there!" whenever we saw the places we visited being featured.

See that boulder on the left, it used to be part of the Tower. We did not take the path to walk around the Tower. I could not image being there when this boulder broke off and fell down to where it landed.

NEBRASKA'S ANSWER TO STONEHENGE

Built in a dusty field outside of Alliance, Nebraska, Carhenge was created by a farmer named Jim Reinders, as a memorial to his father. According to the brochure, "Carhenge is a replica of Stonehenge, England's ancient alignment of stones that chart the phases of the sun and the moon. Carhenge was created from vintage automobiles, the dimensions of the Carhenge replicate Stonehenge."

Instead of the mysterious circle of rock slabs, "The cars are primarily from the 1950's and 1960's. They are planted trunk down and rise 15 to 17 feet. The cars are approximately 7 feet wide; the same size as the standing stones of Stonehenge."

All 38 of the major stones at Stonehenge are cleverly represented at Carhenge. Also on the site is the Car Art Reserve, which features a number of sculpture pieces (below photos - can you find Benjamin?) made entirely of cars and/or car parts.

Visit www.carhenge.com for more information.

You did not think we would leave our "child" at home, did you? Benjamin was a good boy, he never asked "Are we there yet?".

HAVE YOU EATEN THREE BEIGNETS LATELY?

Top photo - Louis Prima, playing beautiful music.

Thursday, May 12th - I met up with CH at the hotel after her seminar. CH already ate lunch, provided at the conference. I had a muffin in the morning and drank lot of water during my walk, so I was not hungry. After 45 minutes of resting in the hotel room, at around 2:40 p.m. CH and I walked from the hotel to Bourbon Street.

We sat down at the Musical Legends Park at 311 Bourbon Street for a cup of cafe au lait. (I thought it was silly that we pretended to enjoy this hot drink while the temparature was in the high 80s.) We placed an order of beignets, New Orleans famous golden squares, served in three, (I could not find the reason why the beignets are sold in 3) covered in powered confectioner's sugar. (I thought beignets are just French pastry wannabe American fried donuts!) CH and I each enjoyed one and shared the 3rd beignet.

The cafe has a nice setting outside, I especially like these scupltures of famous musicians. Left to right are Antoine "Fats" Domino, Al "Jumbo" Hirt and Pete Fountain. The sculpture below is Chris Owens.

Below is Ronni Kole, adorned a string of red beads.

One of the things I like about New Orleans is the music. You could be walking the street and be drawn into lively performance at cafe, on the street or from a courtyard garden, hidden from view, yet so inviting that you could not resist the urge to seek where the sound comes from.

Benjamin was so drawn by the musicians (above) that he decided to have a jammed session with Al, Pete and Antoine.

Since I already saw most of the Quarter earlier in the day, I became sort-of a personal tour guide showing CH around. CH wore a red shirt and I had a navy pants, so we both had white powered sugar all over our clothes, just like the way it should be so everyone knew that we just ate three beignets.