Sunday was Cowboys football playoff time!
But before we get to that, Saturday was a big night for Alicia. She attended the Winter formal dance with several friends. All the young ladies and gentlemen came over to take pictures before they headed to the dance and they all looked amazing.
I enjoyed watching the performance as Diana, the girls, and another Mom attempted to pin the boutonnieres to the boys’ lapels.
The trouble the boys and girls took to 
coordinate ties with dresses and boutonnieres and corsages with their outfits was quite impressive.
We were treated to most of the group coming back over to our home after their dance to hang out for a while. They all seemed to really enjoy the event.
Judy, my friend and EDS admin from California was in town to celebrate the birth of her first grandchild, Reagan Marie. We had Judy and the Dilling clan, Patty and Brent, Wendy and Toby all over to watch the Cowboys play the Packers and to celebrate Nana and Papa Dilling.
I enjoyed holding a baby much smaller than any of my three ever were again. Such a good baby – slept or watched the Cowboys all afternoon with no complaints.
We took a tip from the Winter formal bunch and had a picture of the group taken on the stairs.
Unfortunately the Cowboys lost 34 – 31 in the last few seconds of the game and couldn’t overcome a slow start in the fist half. It was a very exciting game even if not the result we were all hoping for.
We enjoyed some great cocktails and snacks during the game. Diana bought us the “Bacon 24/7” cookbook and made us some yummy cheese and bacon puffs. I infused some bourbon with bacon and used it to make some Manhattans that were well received. Judy had her usual lemon drop cocktails from the glitter ball martini glass that I got to celebrate her new grandmother status. Wendy brought a buffalo chicken dip that everyone really enjoyed and Patty and Brent made one of their excellent flatbreads with mozzarella, honey, and basil. Multiple recipes were exchanged.
Old friends (and a one week old new friend) got to spend some fun time together and catch up despite the wrong result on the football game.
Just as everyone was about to leave, the heavens opened and some tornado warnings were broadcast. Diana and I got pretty wet holding umbrellas for folks to leave and fortunately everyone made it home without incident.
Campbell clearly enjoyed his “all about me” day. His friends left to right are Cody, Patrick, and Cameron (turtle). He’s known them all since elementary school and they’re a great bunch of friends. Will and Christine, Melanie, Laquita, Campbell’s girlfriend Molly, and Diana (meeting Melanie and Laquita for the first time) all participated. It was quite steamy as the evening wore on but the kids didn’t mind or even notice I don’t think.
On Friday we loaded up these boxes for the Salvation Army into Mike Mead’s behemoth of a Tahoe and drove them to Willow Bend mall for drop off. Hopefully the car seats, toy piano, headphones and other goodies will help make Christmas merry for some needy families.
y favorite Blue Apron meals yet – smoked trout tartines. Flaked smoked trout mixed with stewed scallions, creme fraiche, mayonnaise, dill and celery on a toasted baguette. A yummy lunch.
festival a couple of years ago on a recommendation from Greg Luzianne (in his new Saints suit on the left). We saw him play in the paddock and I remember it being an enjoyable but not overly memorable set.
tish Santa – we’ve named him “Peaty” since his bagpipes are bottles of Scotch whisky and my favorite single malts are the peaty flavored ones from Islay.
preparations got into full swing. A fifteen pound turkey was prepped and set to bake in the oven. Diana made some very tasty stuffing with a combination of regular and spicy Italian sausage, corn, and celery. It was a huge hit and I’m still enjoying the leftovers. Sweet potatoes were baked, potatoes mashed, and green beans cooked up. A thoroughly delicious and successful first Thanksgiving meal cooked at home for Diana and me.
Greg) for cocktails at what is reported to be the “World’s Best Cocktail Bar”. The “Dead Rabbit” has won all the major best cocktail bar awards for the last few years and it did not disappoint. I had a “Fifth Gear” which was based on Irish whiskey and very strong. That was accompanied by my favorite pub food – a shepherd’s pie made with lamb.
was a full day of meetings. The organizers tried to spice things up with some “lightning talks” – 5 mins or less on any topic an attendee had in mind. We submitted topics in advance and the audience voted. My talk, “Humble and Kind”, was selected first. The idea came to me after enduring the prior week of hateful speech from all sides and particularly the reports from our schools. The talk seemed to be well received and the song “Humble and Kind” by Tim McGraw was played at the end of the day 
on both Tuesday and Wednesday.
ng provided a real musical highlight. We saw Marc Broussard perform at the Granada theater. Dinner before at the Sundown restaurant next door to the theater was very good. Marc has a great voice and a solid band including 3 horns. We enjoyed a couple of soaring saxophone solos. My highlight of the show was a cover of “Sneaking Sally Through the Alley”, originally recorded by Robert Palmer with The Meters from New Orleans as his band. The George Porter bass line is one of my favorites.
I don’t think there’s anywhere better to see a concert than at the Kessler theater in Oakcliff, just south of downtown Dallas. The sound is pristine no matter what band is playing, the staff are friendly and helpful, the bar is great and the reserved table seating in front of the stage is excellent.
e’s. This was a recommendation from the Wahba’s and a great new place for us in the Bishop Arts district. It describes itself as “An American Bistro with a southern low-country influence”. The interior is quite elegant but casual. We started with a beet salad which was interesting in that it included strawberries – turned out to be a good combination.
Then we split some perfectly cooked New Zealand lamb chops while Patty and Brent had one of their favorite shrimp and grits in Dallas.
ew to New York again on Monday to attend work meetings for a few days. On Monday night I met up with a few work colleagues for dinner and then Darrell Crane took me to a jazz club called Mezzrow. This was a very nice surprise of a place. During breaks in the music they played classic albums on a turntable by the door. Our table was so close it almost felt like we were in the 3 piece band – piano, bass and drums. Several different drummers sat in with the band playing only high hat and snare drum with brushes since the venue was so tiny.
t to see Chick Corea perform at the Blue Note. The show was part of his 75th birthday celebration and on the night that I attended he did a tribute to Miles Davis. The concert was sold out and there was quite a line when I got there but I was still able to get a great seat with an excellent view of the entire band. And an all star band it was! Mike Stern, who played guitar with Miles in the early 80s, Marcus Miller who co-wrote and played bass on Miles’ Tutu album, Kenny Garret who played saxophone with Miles in the late 80s, Wallace Roney who inherited Miles’ trumpet, and the amazing Brian Blade on drums.
The show didn’t start until almost 11pm but was really a one of a kind treat and easily worth the loss of a few hours of sleep.
ve until you review all of life’s journeys since those graduation ceremonies. We spent the weekend in California to attend Diana’s 30 year Santa Clara University reunion.
realize that it certainly has been 30 years since graduation. The food at this Peruvian restaurant was very different and good. Will had an excellent paella and I tried these “causa masaki” – like sushi rolls but wrapped in causa which is yellow potato puree infused with lime and Peruvian ahi – yum. I met Finn the next day at one of my favorite places on Santana Row in San Jose, the Straits cafe. Singaporean food and all delicious.
