Day: February 16, 2020

Week in Review – February 16, 2020

“Rye = Delicious”

The early part of this week was pretty uneventful, with both of us busy with work and enjoying relaxing in our house that we see so rarely.  I took Penelope down to Auto Hans on Monday to get new hydraulics installed in her convertible top.  She’s been after me to make sure that got done before the nice Spring weather arrives in Austin.  I appreciate her nagging, as I do enjoy my short commute down Barton Springs road with the top down.

A break in my schedule on Thursday allowed me to enjoy a decadent lunch at Bayou Jack’s in downtown McKinney.  I do love their red pepper crawfish bisque, and it’s been too long since I enjoyed a cup.

 

Then I stopped to pick up some early Saint Valentine’s day flowers – that way McD could enjoy them before she starts traveling again.

We had a relaxing Valentine’s day at home.  Diana cooked up a delicious shrimp and veggies dinner that we enjoyed in the dining room while listening to our “Wedding Dinner” playlist, and exchanging romantic cards.  I think it’s a pretty good selection, you can check it out here for yourself:

There’s also a “Wedding Dancing” playlist.  You can send me a note if you’d like to have a link to that one.  That’s one of my ways of seeing if anyone is reading this.  More on wedding dancing later.

Our official Valentine’s dinner was on Saturday night (a little less crazy) at Rye in downtown McKinney.  Diana had suggested this after getting an email about their fixed price menu.

Rye isn’t fancy, but the food is creative, beautifully presented, and very tasty.  All five courses were delicious.  The lamb tartare and wagyu tenderloin being my two favourites.  I’ve never had lamb tartare and this one had so many wonderful different flavours.  The wagyu tenderloin was cooked just a bit above rare and we could cut it with a butter knife – fantastic.  What a great place for a casual, inexpensive, but very creative meal.

shrimp, lobster and grits
wagyu tenderloin

We went looking for some music after dinner – Rick’s Chophouse bar was way too busy, Cadillac Pizza was too loud, Landon winery seemed like the only solution.  I’ve never set foot in it before, and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the wine.  A duo was playing a broad mix of music with good skill and vocals.  I caught this short video of them performing Anne’s substitute wedding song – she and Denny couldn’t remember theirs and so she picked this one at our wedding reception.  You might be able to hear Diana telling the whole story on this video 🙂

“The Truants” by Kate Weinberg was my book this week.  Here’s what a review said:

“Perfect for lovers of Agatha Christie and The Secret History, The Truants is a seductive, unsettling, and beautifully written debut novel of literary suspense–a thrilling exploration of deceit, first love, and the depths to which obsession can drive us.”

I actually enjoyed this a bit more than a typical Agatha Christie, and give it a solid B- rating.  So what is the story about? The Truants is told by Jess, a girl just starting college at a university she chose expressly for the opportunity to take classes from Dr. Lorna Clay, an author she’s enthralled by. Jess is a far more complicated girl than she first appears, with dark thoughts, but little life experience. She falls in with three others, and quickly is living a life beyond what she ever expected. In time loyalties begin to shift, and the story shifts from a campus novel to a mystery with a number of twists, some I saw coming, others took me completely by surprise.

Weinberg studied English at Oxford, and I enjoyed the very British nature of this book.

I always enjoy spending time in my home office in McKinney with the Linn audio system.  Unfortunately, it reminds me of how average the Sonos system in our apartment really is.  Joan Armatrading albums are always so beautifully produced, and I went on a bit of a listening spree this week.  Here are a couple of stand outs:

Such a great voice and songwriting talent!

Next up this week is a great song from Leon Russell.  I mentioned last week about missing seeing him in concert with Elton John.  This is the song Elton John was listening to when he decided to call up and see how Leon was doing.  The call that led to the “Union” album and a resurgence of Russell’s career.

And finally, a classic from The Band.  I watched part of “The Last Waltz”, their concert documentary by Martin Scorsese this week – what a great recording of an amazing, star studded concert.  Van Morrison and Bob Dylan both have excellent performances.

 

 

Week in Review – February 9, 2020

“Be vewy, vewy quiet”

Another Bachelor watch party happened on Monday, this time with Damon participating in the cooking.  He had given Diana a shopping list and very specific instructions on how to marinate the flank steak, turning and massaging at regular intervals.  Then there was the discussion about taking the steak down to the grill on the pool deck or using the oven broiler.  Given the dreary weather, the broiler was selected.  The smoke alarms only went off once during preparation, nonetheless the results were delicious.

McD was picked up after work on Tuesday for another trip over to Warby Parker, this time concluding that the progressive lenses for my glasses would have to be remade.  Diana did get her new frames adjusted so that she can see pretty well now.

A work happy hour had me stopping by the Gibson Street bar on the way home.  It’s right next to the Odd Duck and we had been wondering how it was – the verdict:  a very nice bar with good service, comfy booths and a good patio.

Our work “People First” team staged a Chilli cook-off for lunch on Thursday, and did an excellent job.  A $5 donation got me a sampling of 9 different employee made chillis.  I liked numbers 2, 6, and 8, ultimately choosing number 6 which had a deep traditional flavour and a perfect pepper kick.  The numbers were to make sure no favouritism crept into the voting.   We had beef, chicken, and brisket varieties to sample.  It was really nice to see the whole office coming together for lunch and fun.

Natalie and Daniel, a couple we met at Juliet Italian restaurant after the Guns ‘n Roses Austin City Limits festival concert, joined us for dinner at Peche on Friday, followed by a show at the Parker Jazz Club.  Peche, our go to restaurant for new folks visiting Austin (they just moved), was as delicious as ever, and it’s a very short walk across the street to the Parker.

Red Young and his Hot Horns were playing, and I loved that they started out with a number of songs by Allan Toussaint, the legendary New Orleans piano player, composer, and producer.  Here are a couple of those.  Red’s piano skills are top notch, with a mixed quality in the horns.

 

 

 

There was a very bright moon as we walked home.

We had a planning session for the much awaited honeymoon on Saturday afternoon.  Fortunately the food at Loro was great, because the planning was not particularly productive.  Hotels we liked on St Lucia or in the Positano area were ridiculously expensive.  We’re not going to spend as much for a week in a hotel as we would on an inexpensive car.  There was a sign that made us chuckle above the Loro bar – took us back to Patty doing the “Be vewy, vewy quiet” cartoon walk down the corridor of the Catherine.

And then there was Brent’s reply with a picture of Patty with her new shoes, so that she can be “Sperry, sperry qwiet” 🙂

Big Head Todd and the Monsters (interesting name for a band) entertained us at Austin City Limits Moody Theater on Saturday night.  This band has been going strong since the eighties and still has a large live following.  I really enjoy their style of music and they always put on a good show.  Hazel Miller joined on several songs and provided an interesting change in vocals.

I had listened to the opening band, Los Colognes, before the show to decide if we should arrive in time to hear them.  I loved what I heard – a sound very reminiscent of J.J. Cale and Dire Straits, and was looking forward to hearing what they did live.  Here’s some of their music from a radio set:

If you know my musical taste, you can hear that this is very appealing to me.  Disappointingly, the live sound did not match up, with overdriven, blurry vocals and none of the nuanced guitar playing and drumming in the set above.   I lasted a couple of songs before suggesting that we head across the street to III Forks for  a drink before Big Head Todd started.  The smoke infused negronis were delicious.

The sound was very good for the headlining band.  Good news, but also irritating that things weren’t set up correctly for Los Colognes.

Here’s a sampling of the band with and without Hazel Miller:

We went straight home after the show to avoid any more injuries.  The last time we visited the Moody theater was when I broke my finger.  Interestingly, as a complete aside, my fingerprint has changed after the surgery.  The gym uses a combination of phone number and index fingerprint to sign in, and my right one doesn’t work – have to use the left hand index.  Who would have thought that?  I’m sitting here wondering if Global Entry at the airport uses finger prints – I don’t think so and hope not.

After two late nights, the old folks slept in on Sunday morning, and then made the long drive up to McKinney for the week.

Elton John’s “Me” was my literary companion this week.  The book is well written and is a fast, page-turning read.  I enjoyed the earlier chapters, more focused on Elton’s musical experiences, than the later sections covering all his addictions and excesses.  Ultimately I found this book pretty sad overall – such a troubled relationship with his parents that was never overcome, and so much wasted time and money.  Not to take away from the $450 million raised for his AIDS foundation and the music that I’ll always treasure.

I did groan when I read this section: “Leon Russell was touring until the day he died in 2016.  If you didn’t see him, I’m sorry:  you missed out.  Leon Russell was the greatest.”  Yes – I had a chance to see Elton and Leon play together a few years ago.  Diana even asked me if I was sure I didn’t want to go.  I think I have a much better appreciation for Russell’s music now than I did a few years ago.  Either that or I was just being a “dumb idiot”.

This passage underscores the prodigious talent: “Bernie would bash out his lyrics and leave them for me on the piano.  I’d wake up early, go to the dining room, see what he’d come up with and write songs while I was having breakfast.  The first morning we were there, I had three done by the time the band drifted downstairs looking for something to eat: “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters”, “Amy”, and “Rocket Man”.”  Hard to comprehend that kind of ridiculous capability.

And finally, a funny passage about a conversation John had with Prince Philip.  Elton had an Aston Martin custom painted in the colors of his Watford football club.  “You live near Windsor castle, don’t you?” he asked.  “Have you seen the bloody idiot who drives around this area in that ghastly car? It’s bright yellow with a ridiculous stripe.” “Yes, Your Highness, it’s actually me.”

I’ll skip the music section this week since this post has covered a lot of music already and is also a week overdue.