Winter Flowers

I went out in the backyard today because it was the first time in many weeks that there was no snow there. It had melted with the rain and 40 degree temperatures since last night. I was surprised to find some snow drops blooming. There were also some daffodils that had popped up. It looks like Becky's green thumb is at work.

Later this afternoon there will be snow coming to bury those plants again.

Some Spring Fever

Earlier today and this evening we had gone out around town. It was a sunny day and the temperatures were in the high 30's and low 40's and the snow was melting. Some people had spring fever. We saw people jogging in shorts and t-shirts. There were people all over the place walking around in shorts. From our table in JT's we saw lots of folks on Elmwood Avenue walking around and we saw one woman with a bare mid-drift outfit. It's amazing how quickly people in Buffalo jump into some spring fever before it's spring. All they need is a little bit of improved weather and some sun to get the fever.

JT's Tonight

Tonight we went to JT's for dinner to use that gift certificate we got for Xmas from Sean and Ashley. First we had gone to Hallwalls to check out an art show. Then we went over to Elmwood Avenue and parked the car on Bidwell. We stopped at Talking Leaves bookstore for a bit looking at potential belated birthday gifts for Sean. Then we walked down the street to JT's.

It was about 5 pm when we got there which is a little earlier than we usually get there. There were only a couple tables in use plus the bar was busy as usual because they have their happy hour food specials at the bar. We got a nice seat near the front window just under the heaters. It was very comfy.

We started off with splitting a Caesar Salad after I got my glass of Tuscan Blend red wine and Becky got an NA. Becky had the Rigatoni Bolagnese which is something I usually get. I ordered their Black Spaghetti and Shrimp. It was a wonderful meal.

Wd did have a little confusion with the gift card that I had on my phone but they are used to those things while we are not. All went well and we may sure the waiter, who was very good, got his tip.

Overall a wonderful evening.

Hallwalls Amid/In WNY

 

Becky and I went to Hallwalls this afternoon to see the Amid/In Western New York shows. We missed going to the opening a couple of weeks ago because not only the extremely deep frigid temperatures that night but there was also a big Sabres related event next door which would talk up most of the nearby parking. We would have had to walk a long way to park. We didn't go to the opening but Becky wanted to see the show.

So today we left our house around 3:45 and got there just before 4. We spent about 20 minutes, with the gallery to ourselves, looking at the art work of 11 area artists.

It was nice to be able to take our time looking at the artwork without the crowds of an opening reception which is how we usually see art shows. At least for me. Sometimes Becky will go down to a gallery during the time an exhibit is displayed to check out the artwork without the crowds.

The thing about the show today that I didn't like was the video exhibit which is in this photo. There was some really obnoxious loud audio from a video installation. The video of the camp fire was interesting but that audio drove us out of the gallery.

The Lost Symbol - A Novel

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, 2009. This is the third novel in the Robert Langdon series. I read the first two books in the series about twenty years ago... The Da Vinci Code, 2003 first in April 2004 and then Angels & Demons, 2000 in June 2004. So why read the third book now. I saw that the sixth book in the series was just published this past Fall and then I found the Da Vinci Code on a book shelf recently. It reminded me of those early books and I saw that the third one was available at the library to download the e-book. I got it right away and then I read it in six days. 

I got to say I had mixed feelings about this novel. In some ways I just kept reading and couldn't put it down for long periods of time but I was also constantly being disappointed by almost gibberish story telling. I think I got through the book so fast because I was skipping and skimming paragraphs which I don't usually do very much with books that I'm reading... and enjoying. 

When I looked back GoodReads at those first two books I saw that I gave both of those book 3 star reviews which means I had a problem with them. I also never wrote anything about them either.

So there are three more books in this Robert Langdon series and I don't think I will bother with them. This guy seems to write the same book over and over again but not in a good way.

Foggy Day... and Night

We had a foggy day today and then it was a foggy night too. We don't have very many foggy days. I think that may be because of the nearby lake and the wind coming off it. We just don't see very much fog and especially during the winter. I can't remember the last time.

Growing up in the Philadelphia area we always had lots of fog throughout the year. Also down the shore and up in the Pocono Mountains. Most of the time it didn't matter to me but then when I started driving it did. That was after the family moved to Harleysville in the Fall of 1968. Suddenly I was driving back and forth between Germantown and Harleysville to see my friends. That is when I really discovered the problem of the fog. There was lots of it on the road out to the country and I was constantly having to deal with it... very carefully. That went on regularly all the next year and then I was gone. In the Navy.

And the Navy was a whole other experience of fog. First I saw some strange fog out in San Diego and then it was the new experience of the fog at sea. 

Later I would again experience that fog driving from Germantown to Harleysville when I moved back to the city after getting out of the Navy and visited my mom. I liked it better when she moved down to Chestnut Hill and I stopped doing that drive in the fog. 

Then we moved to Buffalo and said goodbye to the fog. Well, even the fog we did very occasionally got in Buffalo was nothing like that fog on the Pennsylvania roads or out at sea.

Sandwich and...

For dinner tonight we decided to just make turkey sandwiches for ourselves on that great French peasant bread. Becky also wanted to make some salad and also some guacamole from one of those fresh avocados we had. Chips and guac. Sounds good. We also had some leftover home fried potatoes to use up so we heated them too.

Suddenly we had a feast and everything was delicious. 

Robert Duvall RIP

I was sad to hear that the actor Robert Duvall passed away today and then surprised to hear that he was 95 years old.

He was in so many of the films I loved over the years. He was also in a lot of TV shows early in my life when I didn't know him or who he was or who he would turn out to be later on but apparently I probably saw him a lot on so many shows in the early to mid 1960's.

Shows like The Outer Limits, Route 66, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Combat!, The Untouchables, The F.B.I. and many more. And then he was in that classic miniseries I loved from 1989... Lonesome Dove.

The films of his that really made an impression on me as a young person were these and so many more...

• To Kill A Mockingbird, 1962
• Bullitt, 1968
• True Grit, 1969
• M*A*S*H*, 1970
• THX 1138, 1971
• The Godfather, 1972
• Joe Kidd, 1972
• The Conversation, 1974
• The Godfather Part II, 1974
• The Killer Elite, 1975
• The Eagle Has Landed, 1976
• The Seven-Percent-Solution
• Network, 1976
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 1978
• Apocalypse Now, 1979
• True Confessions, 1981
• The Natural, 1984

And the list would keep on going.

NBA All Star Game 2026

I've always enjoyed watching the annual NBA All Star game between the East and the West conferences and having grown up with the Phila. Sixers I naturally rooted for the East. I went to a lot of games during the Wilt Chamberlain Sixer years 1965-1968 and especially loved going to games when they played the Boston Celtics with Bill Russell on the court with Wilt. 

However, this year was something uniquely different with the all star game. It was the NBA's 75th anniversary so they created a different format to celebrate. They shifted to a 3 team mini tournament featuring four 12 minute games. Two of the teams, "Stars" and "Stipes" were made up of US born players and the third team, "World", was made up of international players. The players all played for some significant prize money.

I watched several games and it was some fun and very different. The international players lost both their games to the two US teams but they were close. The final game of the Stars over the Stripes was a blowout.

Overall it was a fun evening of NBA basketball.

Pasta Fasul

Becky made a Pasta Fasul dinner tonight. So called Peasant Food. 

It was very good. Pasta, beans and pancetta. And some very good cheese springled on top. 

And then we had some of that wonderful Heidelberg French Peasant bread with it too. 

Becky made enough of this soup that we will have some significant leftovers for the next couple of days... another dinner and probably a lunch for me too.