Kenyo of Pensacola

Flu Shots for the 2008-2009 Season

2008-10-09T07:33:00.009-06:00

"Ouch!"

Yesterday we got our flu shots. It's a fall ritual like Halloween and raking leaves. We went to Pensacola's Professional Health Examiners -- a one-stop service where you can get flu shots and paternity tests right in the neighborhood. Our real reason to go there is that we can get our shots and be on our way in about five minutes. Try that at Walgreens or the doctor's office.

There's lots of flu information at the Centers for Disease Control website and specific information from them about the coming 2008-2009 flu season. We will find out during the peak of flu season, in January and February, if "they" picked the right formula to fend off this winter's flu bugs.

Still have flu questions? Click and read Seattle's excellent Flu FAQs.

Back to Destin for Lunch

2008-10-01T11:51:00.009-06:00

A few days ago we drove to Destin to have lunch again at the new Commander's Palace, a branch of the original in New Orleans. This time we went with Joan and Billy and everyone had a fine meal. We started off with soup. Jack had the turtle soup, I had the gumbo of the day -- smoked duck with a garnish of crispy fried oysters. Both Joan and Billy had the three-soup samplers, that's a small cup each of the turtle soup, the gumbo and the soup of the day, which was cream of butternut squash.

For the main course Joan had a crab salad with a very generous heap of fresh lump crab meat. Billy had the shrimp remoulade over a creole salad. Jack had a smoked pork chop with crispy fried plantain strips and I had grilled grouper on a bed of fall vegetables. And of course we all had lots of their garlic bread with our soup and French bread with the meal.

Billy ordered the signature Creole Bread Pudding Soufflé with whiskey sauce and we all had a taste. After years of eating this dessert at Commander's in New Orleans this was the best I had ever tasted. Light and not too sweet. Better than you get in New Orleans.

Any complaints or suggestions? Of course. But nothing serious. There should be better directions to the restaurant from the parking garage and in the elevators from both the parking garage and from Harbor Walk. The directions lead you to the bar and two stories of stairs to climb. There's a convenient elevator to the dining room but nothing is posted. Also they don't need the insipid, intrusive background music. And as I mentioned in the post after our earlier visit, it's much too bright in the dining area.

The service, as always was excellent and cheery. I'm ready to go back soon.

The Next Cruise

2008-09-29T08:16:00.004-06:00

The Emerald Princess

Fall is here and it's time to make plans for winter activities. And a winter cruise to the southern Caribbean.

The Emerald Princess is one of the newer ships in the Princess fleet. It was launched in the spring of 2007. It's a big ship, 3,100 passengers and 1,200 crew, with lots of facilities and amenities. During the ten-day cruise we will visit some beautiful islands, two of which -- Dominica and Grenada -- we have never been to before.

Lunch at Jesse's in Magnolia Springs, Alabama

2008-09-26T01:53:00.010-06:00

Once again it was a pleasure to drive the 50 miles to Magnolia Springs to eat lunch at Jesse's Restaurant.

We started with their fabulous Champagne Crab Bisque. Then Jack had the 'Shay' Burger with lots of toppings and I had the Fried Shrimp Po' Loaf sandwich. We both had their worth-the-trip potato salad. You can read about all their food on their newly re-designed website. The menu has lots of delicious salads, sandwiches and lunch specials. And if you're really hungry don't miss the steak and fries. It's their signature dish: Jesse's Famous Whiskey Steak -- a 12 oz. ribeye marinated in Jack Daniels and spices and served with fries.

Here's what Alabama's Department of Tourism says about Jesse's,

Jesse’s Restaurant is located in the sleepy little village of Magnolia Springs, where the mail is still delivered by boat. Housed in the former Post Office, and adjacent to Moore Brothers Village Market (listed on the National Register of Historic Places), the charming café draws visitors from miles around with its unique location and New Orleans-inspired menu. Best described as casual fine dining, Jesse’s offers such entrees as Southern-style crab cakes over Cajun slaw, shrimp and tasso over creamy goat cheese grits, and its famous “whiskey steak.” Located only 15 minutes from the Gulf, Jesse’s is a great place for lunch or dinner.

By the way here's the recipe for

Jesse's Whiskey Steak Marinade
(for four steaks)
1/2 cup of soy sauce
1 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of Jack Daniel's Whiskey
1/4 cup of chopped garlic
1/2 cup of peeled ginger root, sliced 1/4 inch thick

Marinate the steaks for 1-3 hours.

(Recipe adapted from the book Alabama's Historic Restaurants and Their Recipes, by Gay N. Martin.)

Follow Up -- Presidential Predictions

2008-09-20T10:21:00.010-06:00

Here's a follow up to the Presidential Predictions posts on this blog back in February 2007.

Back then, the predicted winners for the Democrats were John Edwards for the presidential nomination with Barack Obama for vice president.

For the Republicans John McCain was the clear choice for the presidential nod. But for vice president it was nearly a five-way tie. Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney were in a tie (two votes each) for the VP nomination barely ahead of Bill Frist, Rudy Giuliani and Chuck Hegel (one vote each). Nineteen-months ago, Sarah Palin wasn't even a gleam in Karl Rove's eye.

You can look at the original posts here:
Predicting the Candidates for 2008
Tallies

The New Commander's Palace in Destin, Florida

2008-09-11T09:25:00.013-06:00

Commander's Palace in New Orleans is one of the top restaurants in the country. Among its honors is the Lifetime Outstanding Restaurant Award from the James Beard Foundation.

Recently the Brennan's opened a Commander's Palace in Destin, Florida in a waterfront location on the Gulf of Mexico overlooking Destin Harbor.

After they had been open for about a month we decided to give it a try. We went with high hopes that they could match the service, ambience and quality of food they are so famous for in New Orleans. And yes, they did.

The food combines New Orleans and Creole traditions with ingredients from the Florida Gulf Coast and the Caribbean.

We loved the whole meal, for starters Jack had their famous turtle soup and I had the chicken and crab Courtbouillon, along with their hot garlic and cheese bread. For entrees I had grilled Wahoo and Jack the smoked pork chop. Both were perfectly cooked and presented with unusual and delicious vegetable garnishes.

Here's the Zagat review and some photos.

The dining room has huge windows overlooking Harbor Walk Village and the Gulf. It's a great view, but at lunch time the dining room can be very bright with the combination of the big windows, the array of overhead lights plus white walls, linens, dishes and chairs. And it's certainly much too bright for a gentleman who is, perhaps, taking his secretary there for a three-martini lunch. He just might get spotted by a friend of the family.

By the way, three martinis will cost him 75 cents. Yes, they have 25-cent martinis -- at least at lunch on weekdays. Three's the limit, however. As the menu says, "That's enough."

It was a wonderful experience and one we will repeat again soon. Plus it is only 50 miles from Pensacola.

For more information about Commander's Palace, read the
Wiki article.

Keeping an eye on CERN...

2008-09-09T17:33:00.019-06:00

Black Hole Machine? [Click here to find out.]

From CERN's press release a few days ago: "CERN reiterates safety of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) on eve of first beam."

Geneva, 5 September 2008. A report published today in the peer reviewed Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics1 provides comprehensive evidence that safety fears about the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are unfounded. The LHC is CERN’s2 new flagship research facility. As the world’s highest energy particle accelerator, it is poised to provide new insights into the mysteries of our universe.

“The LHC will enable us to study in detail what nature is doing all around us,” said CERN Director General Robert Aymar. “The LHC is safe, and any suggestion that it might present a risk is pure fiction.” [read more]

However, not everyone agrees. Here's what Citizens Against the Large Hadron Collider has to say about the dangers.

You can check out CERN and how it came to be by clicking on the links below.
CERN Welcome Page
CERN Scientific Information Service
CERN Wiki

Teriyaki Chicken

2008-09-09T07:58:00.013-06:00

Last week we had lunch at Nobusei Japanese Restaurant. It's a favorite for a delicious and reasonably priced (cheap in other words) lunch. In the evenings they also do wonderful grilled meats, shrimp and fish at the lively Hibachi tables. Their live chefs chop, grill and entertain. Nobusei is actually the closest restaurant to our house.

One of their best offerings at lunch is teriyaki chicken with tempura vegetables -- batter fried bell pepper, sweet potato, onion rings, broccoli and carrot matchsticks. All of this preceded by soup and salad.

Nobusei's teriyaki chicken was so good I wanted to make it at home. So I did some Google research. There were lots of recipes, the one used was for Teriyaki Chicken Kababs, a.k.a. Yakitori.

I didn't want to grill the chicken on skewers so I sliced each skinless, boneless breast into four slices, the long way, and pounded to flatten a bit. Then marinated the chicken for 30 minute and grilled them for about two minutes on each side. They browned up nicely and tasted "right." Very good indeed.

Next time I will have to try making those tempura vegetables, too.

Three Named-Storms Now in the North Atlantic

2008-09-05T17:16:00.008-06:00

Late afternoon on Friday it looks like Tropical Storm Hanna has missed us here in the Florida panhandle. It may cause a wet weekend along the Atlantic coast.

[This map is from WeatherUnderground.com. For a larger map click the image above. For more tropical storm information go to the Weather Underground site.]

Hurricane Ike may be headed right into the Gulf of Mexico. On its way to Pensacola? That's a possibility. We will find out by the middle of next week.

And it's too early to guess where Tropical Storm Josephine may end up.

Hurricane Gustav Lands

2008-09-01T09:53:00.010-06:00

[Click on the image to enlarge it.]
Above, Weather.com's radar map of Hurricane Gustav. This was taken about 30 minutes after the eye of the storm's landfall at Cocodrie, Lousiana -- 70 miles southwest of New Orleans. And about 250 miles WSW of Pensacola, a good, safe distance.

A Quick Roadtrip to Biloxi and the Circus

2008-08-24T15:21:00.001-06:00

Usually we wouldn't have gone away when a major storm was heading for Pensacola, but Tropical Storm Fay was moving so slowly we decided we could drive to Biloxi for just one night. We headed over on Thursday morning.

We were off to see Ringling Bros. And Barnum & Bailey's one-ring circus -- Boom A Ring.

We stopped for lunch at a favorite restaurant, the locally-owned Felix's Fish Camp Grill in Spanish Fort, Alabama. It is on the bay across from Mobile with great views of battleships at Battleship Park.

Felix's looks like a fish camp -- old, battered, falling down -- but inside it is a fine restaurant with excellent service and wonderful food. Have the crab soup, it's worth the trip.

From Felix's we continued on to Biloxi and checked in at the Isle of Capri Casino. We hadn't stayed there for a couple of years and we were pleased to find the rooms had been nicely refurbished.

Early in the evening we drove west along the beach road to the circus. It was playing at Biloxi's Mississippi Coast Coliseum.

The show had some very good acts and lots of classic circus elements such as juggling, tumbling and acrobatics. The dog act was unique with its cast of five trained Daschunds. Los Scolas' high wire act was as exciting as ever and this year they added a high energy double wheel as well. Opening the second act was Vicenta Pages presenting her white tigers immediately followed by her aerial act.

In the morning we drove home to wait for Tropical Storm Fay and by Sunday evening it still had not arrived in Pensacola.

Tropical Storm Fay Update

2008-08-23T10:12:00.005-06:00

Tropical Storm Fay is heading toward Pensacola. This map from Weather.com shows the storm's path at 10:30 a.m. this morning.

As you can see from the previous post none of the computer projections was even close. Lucky for us it never made it to hurricane level.

Where is Tropical Storm Fay going?

2008-08-19T07:19:00.009-06:00

North Atlantic TS Fay landed in Florida again. This morning it came ashore just south of Fort Myers. Yesterday it passed through Key West. From the computer models below you'll see that there are several very different outcomes possible. These seem to be more varied than usual especially for computer models after landfall.

Looks like it is not heading toward Pensacola.

The map is from Weather Underground's Tropical Weather pages.

I'll keep you posted.

It's time to start thinking about . . .

2008-07-31T08:50:00.020-06:00

. . . buying a new car.

And thinking about shopping for a new car is not a happy thought. Oh sure, it would be nice to have a new car, but on the pleasure scale, dealing with car sales persons is barely one step above having root canal work done.

Our current cars are in fine shape but getting along in years -- 19 years combined. With an average age of 9.5 years we are sure to have some costly problems before long.

To get us started here's a list of links to automobile companies and another to some sites that compare new car featutres and prices. These should help us avoid entering a showroom for a while.

Car Companies
Acura
Buick
Chevrolet
Chrysler
Dodge
Ford
Honda
Hyundai
Kia
Lincoln
Mercury
MINI
Mitsubishi
Nissan
Saturn
Scion
Toyota
Volkswagen

New Car Comparison Sites
Automotive.com Comparisons
CarPrice.com
Edmunds New Car Comparisons

Fuel Economy Data
The EPA's Fuel Ecomomy Stats
2008 Fuel Economy Leaders

Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Part 2

2008-07-26T08:09:00.034-06:00

Now for some details of our trip to and from Montgomery.

As I mentioned in the previous post, we set off last Friday morning, about 10:30, for Montgomery, Alabama, about 175 miles north of Pensacola, via Interstate 65. Heading for the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.

When we passed by the Alabama town of Evergreen, it was almost lunch time and the halfway point of our drive. We decided to stop in the next town, Georgiana, and have lunch at the Georgiana Family Restaurant. We had eaten there before and liked it a lot. A typical southern country restaurant, open only at lunch time and serving "meat and two." That means a meat dish -- your choice of fried chicken, catfish, chicken fried steak, meatloaf -- and two side dishes such as collard greens, fried corn, black eyed peas, sweet potatoes, etc. Sometimes rolls or cornbread are included too. Drinks are usually extra. All of it is at a very reasonable price, between $6.00 and $8.00 each.

We were ready to eat but when we got there the restaurant was no longer there. And the building said "Georgiana Used Cars." And it had a sign saying it too was "out of business." Sadly, for us, Georgiana is so small there are no other restaurants except for a hot dog stand at the gas station.

Hungry, we drove up a side road the 15 miles to Greenville hoping to find somewhere to eat. Anywhere. Anything.

The side road was deserted and we decided to eat at the first likely place we could find in Greenville. Halfway through Greenville we saw a bright, fresh awning and a sign that said "The Chef's Table." The food was good (meat and three!) and the location interesting. There were several old, beautifully restored Victorian homes nearby just down from the village square with its brick city hall.

We had fried chicken, corn bread, greens, braised cabbage, blackeyed peas, chess pie, banana pudding and iced tea. The price was $7.98 per person.

About an hour later we had checked in to the Hilton Garden Inn in Montgomery with plenty of time for a shower, nap, and dinner before the show at ASF. We had already searched the Internet and made a list of likely restaurants, looking for a casual, nearby place with a local feel.

The best casual dining spot close to the Hilton was Chappy's Deli on Perry Hill Road. It was just down the street a couple blocks and had a great menu of creative light meals and deli classics. Chappy's is a small chain with four other delis in the area. It's very popular with families and early on a Friday evening it was packed. But the large size of the place and the fast service meant there was no wait at all.

Then we were off to ASF to see West Side Story and we were pleased to find it was a excellent production in every way.

The next day we needed a hearty brunch before seeing ASF's The Beaux' Stratagem at 2:00 P.M., so we ate at Sinclair's East. It was close to the ASF grounds and had great food.

The decor and furnishings are very nice and the food is well-prepared, not inexpensive -- reasonably priced for the quality -- but not cheap. However there is something strange about Sinclair's atmosphere -- the young staff dress like pigs. Sloppy tops, grungy blue jeans that don't look clean (maybe they are, but...) and a hostess wearing short shorts that were not appropriate with her more than ample figure. They must be be the owner's kids.

Like Chappy's this restaurant is part of a small local chain with two other Sinclairs' in the area. After the play, which we really enjoyed, we were on I-65 heading south for home at 5:05 P.M. It had been a quick trip and we got to see two excellent productions by one of the best Shakespeare Festivals in the country.

We picked up our evening meal at the Krystal drive thru in Ft. Deposit. We each had a sack of burgers and a Dr. Pepper. We ate them while racing down I-65. For more information about the Krystal chain go to Krystal's Wiki page.

We arrived home at 8:30 Saturday night. The total mileage for the trip was 384 miles.

Alabama Shakespeare Festival

2008-07-25T10:04:00.015-06:00

Last Friday morning we set off for Montgomery, Alabama, about 175 miles north of Pensacola, via Interstate 65. We were going to see a couple of plays -- West Side Story (1957) and The Beaux' Stratagem (1707) -- at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. We had been there once before and saw an excellent production of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

The Festival hasn't done a lot of musicals in the past and although we trusted them to do a good job, we both thought they were very brave to choose such a challenging piece as West Side Story. It turned out that earlier in the season they presented Romeo & Juliette, so West Side Story made perfect sense. As for their production of West Side Story, it was wonderful. Broadway quality on all levels -- acting, dancing, singing as well as all the design and production aspects. ASF deserves to be very proud of this show.

The Beaux' Stratagem, by George Farquhar was also very well done, a fresh and bright production by the graduating MFA class.

The Alabama Shakespeare Festival is located in Blount Cultural Park, donated by Wynton M. Blount. It also contains the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, the Shakespeare Garden and Amphitheatre plus acres of open space groomed to look like the English countryside.

Links:
ASF's website
ASF's blog
West Side Story
The Beaux' Stratagem

Seasickness Remedies

2008-07-11T07:48:00.017-06:00

Because we go on a lot of cruises, we often get asked by friends, family and even strangers, "Do you ever get seasick?" No, we have never gotten seasick, but someday we might, so we sail prepared.

There are two remedies we always take with us when we cruise. One is a prescription drug, Transderm Scop (Scopolamine). It's a small patch you wear behind your ear. The effects last for three days. You see many people on the ship wearing these patches.

Modern cruise ships are so stable that seasickness is rare, but even old sea captains get it sometimes -- after years on the sea with no problems.

We also pack a box of another drug that's helpful, Bonine (Meclizine). It is a non-drowsy version of Dramamine and you do not need a prescription to buy it. It's a chewable tablet and works quickly. It is also useful for dizzyness and other kinds of motion sickness.

There are a lot of other medications and folk remedies people use to avoid and/or treat seasickness. Here's what About.com has to say about many kinds of seasickness remedies.

A post from January 2008 about staying healthy on cruises listed what we do to avoid getting the dreaded Norovirus and other shipboard illnesses. Click here to read it.

Birthday Plants and a New Pot

2008-07-03T11:51:00.008-06:00

My parents in Maine sent me a Lowe's gift card for my birthday. Thank you very much. I used it to buy some hibiscus plants for the backyard. Red, orange and yellow. Here are some photos I took today.

I replanted them in some large square planters and they are doing very well. Click on the blossoms to see a larger image.

I also used the gift card to buy a large decorative pot for the corn plant I mentioned in a recent post. It had outgrown its original pot and was getting top heavy. Often when it was windy it would topple over. The new pot is much heavier and won't blow over so easily. Also the corn plant has to come in the house for the winter so it's good to have a nice looking pot for it to live in.

What's for dinner tonight? Part 4

2008-07-01T09:04:00.110-06:00

Christmas Day Dinner Menu on board the U.S.S. Case, December 25, 1926 (from the holiday menu collection at the U.S. Navy Department Library).

I have kept a log of our evening meals since Saturday, January 27, 2007 (BBQ baby back ribs and Nassau Grits). The intention was to help with the daily questions, "What do you want for dinner tonight?" and "What haven't we had lately?"

When the list became too long I broke it up into six-month segments:
January through June, 2007
July through December, 2007
January through June, 2008

Tuesday, July 1, 2008 -- Lunch at Emeril's Gulf Coast Fish House at the Island View Casino Resort, Gulfport, Mississippi, -- Joan & Billy, Beth, Jack and Ken; later, snacks for supper
Wednesday, July 2 -- leftover Kung Pao chicken, pepper beef, rice, wontons
Thursday, July 3 -- Salisbury steak, roasted potatoes
Friday, July 4 -- taco salad

Saturday, July 5 -- Quiche Lorraine (James Beard recipe), salad
Sunday, July 6 -- BBQ ribs, burgers, hot dogs here, with the Daughdrill's
Monday, July 7 -- meatloaf, mashed potatoes, corn
Tuesday, July 8 -- KFC, coleslaw, biscuits
Wednesday, July 9 -- grilled NY strip steak, baked potato
Thursday, July 10 -- steak sandwiches, chips and dips
Friday, July 11 -- lunch at Joan & Billy's, southern veggies by Billy, chicken & dumplings, corn pones; later for supper, snacks and Blue Bell ice cream

Saturday, July 12 -- chicken curry, steamed rice, English peas
Sunday, July 13 -- chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, collards with bacon
Monday, July 14 -- lunch at the Red Barn BBQ in Milton; roast beef hoagies for supper
Tuesday, July 15 -- for lunch, chicken fried steak sandwiches; for supper, Caesar salad with shrimps on a stick
Wednesday, July 16 -- crispy fried chicken strips, rice, gravy, skillet corn
Thursday, July 17 -- spaghetti with meat sauce, salad, garlic bread
Friday, July 18 -- Road food, drive to Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Montgomery

Saturday, July 19 -- Road food, drive home from Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Montgomery
Sunday, July 20 -- charcoal grilled NY Strip steak, Sauce Béarnaise, mashed potatoes
Monday, July 21 -- BBQ ribs, baked beans, mustard coleslaw
Tuesday, July 22 -- Kung Pao chicken, rice, green beans
Wednesday, July 23 -- Vichyssoise, crab salad, corn on the cob
Thursday, July 24 -- leftover Vichyssoise and Kung Pao chicken, fried rice
Friday, July 25 -- Jack's birthday lunch at Skopelos on the Bay; snacks for supper

Saturday, July 26 -- bacon burgers, potato salad
Sunday, July 27 -- crab soup, Coronation Chicken on salad greens, grapes, coconut shreds
Monday, July 28 -- gazpacho, BLT sandwiches
Tuesday, July 29 -- Lunch at Madison's Diner; snacks for supper
Wednesday, July 30 -- Swiss steak, rice & gravy, English peas
Thursday, July 31 -- Panko-fried chicken strips, corn, macaroni Alfredo
Friday, August 1, 2008 -- chicken-fried steak, country gravy, mashed potatoes, collards

Saturday, August 2 -- grilled beef & veggie kabobs with rice
Sunday, August 3 -- batter-fried Gulf shrimp, salad
Monday, August 4 -- Number 1 Chinese take out
Tuesday, August 5 -- BBQ burgers, potato salad, coleslaw
Wednesday, August 6 -- Lunch at Hacienda Mexican Restaurant; snacks for supper
Thursday, August 7 -- leftover Chinese takeout
Friday, August 8 -- Lunch pork chops and two sides at Bailey's Farmers Market; sandwiches for supper

Saturday, August 9 -- Coronation Chicken on salad greens with grapes, papaya, toasted coconut
Sunday, August 10 -- Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, English peas
Monday, August 11 -- BBQ steak, Sauce Béarnaise, rice, green beans
Tuesday, August 12 -- KFC, mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits
Wednesday, August 13 -- BBQ ribs, Nassau Grits
Thursday, August 14 -- bacon burgers, salad
Friday, August 15 -- taco salad with fresh pico de gallo

Saturday, August 16 -- shrimps-on-a-stick, potato salad, fresh corn
Sunday, August 17 -- shrimps and crabs and peach pie at Maria & Bill's
Monday, August 18 -- Kung Pao chicken, steamed rice, green beans
Tuesday, August 19 -- Lunch at the Red Barn BBQ; sandwiches for supper
Wednesday, August 20 -- leftover Kung Pao chicken, steamed rice, fried rice, green beans
Thursday, August 21 -- Roadfood: lunch at Felix's Fish Camp Grill in Spanish Fort, Alabama; midnight snack, burgers at Tradewinds Marketplace, in the Isle of Capri's Food Court, Biloxi, Mississippi
Friday, August 22 -- French dipped beef sandwiches, Corn Macquechoux

Saturday, August 23 -- Chicken Fried Steak, corn, mashed potatoes, country gravy
Sunday, August 24 -- red beans and rice, smoked sausage
Monday, August 25 -- Panko fried chicken, rice, gravy, green peas
Tuesday, August 26 -- salmon and corn bisque, smoked salmon, cream cheese, capers, toast points
Wednesday, August 27 -- Quiche Lorraine (James Beard recipe), creamed spinach
Thursday, August 28 -- crispy batter-fried shrimp, potato salad, coleslaw
Friday, August 29 -- bacon burgers, corn on the cob

Saturday, August 30 -- beef kababs with grilled veggies, steamed rice
Sunday, August 31 -- Pork chops, mashed sweet potatoes, blackeyed peas
Monday, September 1, 2008 -- chicken curry, steamed rice, English peas
Tuesday, September 2 -- charcoal grilled N.Y. strip steaks. mashed potatoes
Wednesday, September 3 -- taco salad
Thursday, September 4 -- steak Béarnaise, asparagus, steamed rice
Friday, September 5 -- lunch at Nobusei Japanese Restaurant; sandwiches for supper

Saturday, September 6 -- meatloaf, mashed potatoes, creamed corn
Sunday, September 7 -- teriyaki chicken, seared green onions, rice
Monday, September 8 -- bacon burgers, potato salad
Tuesday, September 9 -- lunch at Commander's Palace in Destin, Florida; snacks for supper
Wednesday, September 10 -- Shrimps-on-a-Stick, coleslaw, fried potato wedges
Thursday, September 11 -- Hamburger Stroganoff, Noodles Mary Westbrook, green peas
Friday, September 12 -- Crab bisque, crab cakes, tossed salad

Saturday, September 13 -- Kung Pao chicken, steamed rice, green beans
Sunday, September 14 -- BBQ baby back ribs, baked beans, coleslaw
Monday, September 15 -- leftover Kung Pao chicken, fried rice, green beans
Tuesday, September 16 -- Lunch at Jesse's in Magnolia Springs, Alabama; snacks for supper
Wednesday, September 17 -- bacon burgers, home made guacamole and pico de gallo
Thursday, September 18 -- KFC, mashed potato, gravy, cream corn
Friday, September 19 -- chicken-fried steak, C.H. Guenther & Son's Pioneer Brand country gravy, black eyed peas with ham, collard greens with bacon and hot sauce

Saturday, September 20 -- beef kababs with grilled veggies, steamed rice
Sunday, September 21 -- taco salad, fresh pico de gallo
Monday, September 22 -- deviled crabs, noodles Alfredo
Tuesday, September 23 -- Lunch at La Hacienda Mexican Restaurant, snacks for supper
Wednesday, September 24 -- Panko crusted fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn fritters
Thursday, September 25 -- Dinner at Coach 'n' Four Steakhouse, Pensacola
Friday, September 26 -- fried chicken Caesar salad

Saturday, September 27 -- Salisbury steak, gravy, Noodles Mary Westbrook, green peas
Sunday, September 28 -- Jesse's Whiskey Steak, baked potato
Monday, September 29 -- Coronation Chicken on spinach and iceberg lettuce salad
Tuesday, September 30 -- Lunch with Joan & Billy at Commander's Palace in Destin; snacks for supper
Wednesday, October 1, 2008 -- A Festival of Leftovers
Thursday, October 2 -- BBQ baby back ribs, mustard slaw, skillet corn
Friday, October 3 -- bacon burgers, Tater Tots

Saturday, October 4 -- crab cakes, noodles Alfredo, butter beans with smoked sausage
Sunday, October 5 -- grilled steak, Béarnaise sauce, baked potato
Monday, October 6 -- spaghetti with meat sauce, corn pones
Tuesday, October 7 -- teriyaki chicken kababs, steamed rice, asparagus Béarnaise
Wednesday, October 8 -- pork chops, mashed sweet potatoes, Chipotle applesauce
Thursday, October 9 -- chicken, rice, gravy, coleslaw, biscuits

Please leave a comment with a menu suggestion. Thanks!

Crossed Oars with Life Buoy

2008-06-29T13:46:00.010-06:00

For a long time we have wanted some oars on our back yard fence. The oars and the life buoy in the photos below were birthday gifts to Jack and Ken from Joan, Billy, Kim and Beth. Thank you all very much.

Everything is attached with hooks and latches so in case of hurricanes they can be easily removed and stowed in a safe place.

The Circus Comes To Town

2008-06-22T12:55:00.010-06:00

[On Friday night we went to the circus. Jack offered to review the performance for us and I thank him for doing such a thorough job of it. The following are Jack's comments.]

Bellobration!

Disclaimer: I have been associated with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, on and off, for around (gasp!) forty years. I am not on their payroll but have done various writing jobs for them, the most recent in 2006. Still, believe me, these comments are not designed for the Ringling press kit but are just my honest opinions.

Friday night, we drove down to the Pensacola Civic Center to see Ringling's 137th Edition (the Red show), entitled "Bellobration" in honor of its star, the brilliant daredevil clown Bello Nock. We arrived about an hour before show time to observe the "All-Access Pre-Show" which invites audience members to the arena floor to "interact" with performers and animals. The audience enjoyed it but the pre-show lacked the cohesiveness and spirit that's stimulated by an inspired host -- I am thinking particularly of how brilliantly Jon Weiss conducted this event for several years on Ringling's Gold Unit.

As the circus proper unfolded, I had a hunch it would be an excellent experience. That mood was in the air. I wasn't disappointed. The previous edition, "Circus of Dreams," was quite a mess. Looking back, I consider it now as the transitional show. For that one, the producers Kenneth Feld and Nicole Feld did away with the time-honored three-ring format by opening up the arena floor, adding a giant TV screen and incorporating a storyline into the circus.

I left last year feeling quite a bit let down. Sure, I am all for modernization and innovation. It's lethal to stay stuck in the past. But the "Circus of Dreams" just didn't cut it. Happily it appears that many lessons were learned from that experiment.

"Bellobration" gets it right. From the elegant black and white opening to the blasting human cannonballs finale, it's real circus all the way. As the title would suggest, the show is framed around Bello Nock. He appears throughout, displaying skill and daring on a sway pole and the giant revolving "wheel of steel." He also presides over a funny interactive bit with kids from the audience. (Real "townie kids" or "ringers?" I can't say for sure) and appears repeatedly on pre-recorded clips on the giant screen. Bello is a consummate performer at the top of his form; a seventh generation circus star who's a joy to see in action.

Aside from Bello, I was not impressed much by the show's clowns. They seemed disjointed and generally not very funny. One semi-amusing gag called "Dancing With The Clowns" is about all I remember.

Greatly enjoyed the tiger presentation by the Chilean trainer, Taba. He puts his Bengal and white tigers through their paces with skill and humor. More than once I was reminded of the style and persona of the immortal Gunther Gebel-Williams. And, that is praise indeed.

For an old circus hand like me, another fascinating part of this year's "cat act" is the steel arena which descends from the arena ceiling. It's a major logistical innovation that is brilliantly realized. (Getting the cage up and down in the midst of a show has always been a noisy, labor-intensive nightmare. But, for Ringling, not anymore.)

The Aguillar Brothers do an excellent, polished turn on the high-wire. Ringmaster Ty McFarlan performs well and sings the original score nicely.

There are liberty horses, dogs, flying trapeze artists, Chinese acrobats and many other things included that spell circus. A (mostly) live band adds to the overall excitement. It is a well rounded package and the audience seemed to love every minute.

Close-ups on the giant screen, provided by a roving group of camera-people, are a notable addition. The concept is realized more fully this year than in its debut season in "Circus of Dreams."

For the past few years, one of the stars of Ringling who doesn't get his name above the title is lighting designer Peter Morse. The Felds have invested many millions of dollars in lighting instruments and controls. Using this equipment to the fullest, Peter employs every lighting trick in the book and then some. The look and effects are often stunning. It amazes me that the show as performed in a small market like Pensacola looks as good as it did on opening night in Madison Square Garden a year and a half ago.

I had a great time at "Bellobration." If it comes your way, you'll miss a delightful treat if you don't join the party.

Skopelos on the Bay -- for Lunch

2008-06-21T14:41:00.006-06:00

For my birthday Jack said he would take me out to eat anywhere I wanted.

I picked lunch at Skopelos on the Bay. It's on a cliff high above Pensacola's Escambia Bay. They are open for lunch on Fridays only. So that's your one chance each week to enjoy the view -- in daylight. For dinner they are open Tuesday through Saturday, and there's a mid-day Sunday brunch.

The restaurant has been around Pensacola since 1959 and is run by Gus and Nancy Silivos.

Skopelos on the Bay has fresh local seafood, great steaks and many dishes with decidedly Mediterranean flavors -- and, of course, a wonderful Greek Salad. I had a Greek-style fried flounder and Jack had their crab cakes. Both were very good. The service is attentive but relaxed. There are many rooms and an outdoor patio so even when there are lots of customers you don't feel like you are in a crowd.

Across the street is their chrome and formica Scenic 90 Cafe with its art deco decor and menus that promise, "Excellent Food & Snappy Service." And they have both.

For weddings and other special events there's Nancy's Haute Affairs Catering.

Dracaena Fragrans (Corn Plant)

2008-06-15T08:03:00.003-06:00

My how you've grown!

Maria and Bill gave us a corn plant in June 2007. The photo on the left was taken then. It seemed pretty big when we got it -- about 4 feet tall. The other day I noticed it had really grown a lot in a year. I didn't realize how much until I found this photo from 2007.

Below is a photo from June 2008. Whatever we are feeding it seems to work.

A Summer Day at Pensacola Beach

2008-06-06T08:16:00.031-06:00

Yesterday we drove over to Pensacola Beach for lunch. After we ate we drove down Fort Pickens Road. The beach is famous for the sugar-white sand. It's so white it can look like snow. The photo above may look like winter in New England, but it's June in Northwest Florida. The temperature was 95 degrees (35C).

We ate at a favorite beach restaurant, Flounder's Chowder House. It has indoor/outdoor dining and a view of Quietwater Beach and Santa Rosa Sound. The decor is funky seaside kitsch. There are lots of huge stuffed fish all around. A real shrimp boat is in the parking lot by the entrance. Over the tables inside there are dozens of old out-board motors clamped to the roof beams. All this and the food and service are really good too.

Jack got this photo of the classic beach ball water tower on Pensacola Beach.

May 2008 Cruise -- Photos from Carnival Glory

2008-06-02T10:49:00.000-06:00

Here's a link to the photos we took on this Carnival Glory cruise.