Delicious Distractions

I'm fairly organized so looking ahead and knowing that this weekend I would either feel like celebrating or feel like being distracted (sadly it's fallen into the black hole of WTF??) ~ I'm glad we had plans for Friday night.

We love to laugh so we're always up for Comedy Works and there's a nice one not far from us.  Bonus points for making dinner reservations at Lucy Restaurant for a delish dinner before the show.  (If you're lucky Lucy the dog - who owns the restaurant... will saunter thru.)  Dine before the show and you're treated like royalty - both during dinner and at the show. Sherri was really cute; I like comedians who can make you laugh just talking about every day things in life (Jerry Seinfeld and Ellen come to mind, too).

My Asian Chicken Salad

really sinful waffle fries

And The Mister's Sesame Seed Ahi Tuna

Saturday found us at Bonanno Brothers Pizzeria for an early dinner.

Home made burrato (mozzarella wrapped ricotta cheese)

Followed by 

Beet, arugula and cucumber salad with yogurt dressing.

I missed The Mister's pizza but it looked quite yum.

From there it was off to the Botanic Gardens at Chatfield State Park to spend a crazy fun evening under the stars with Steve Martin, Edie Brickell and the Steep Canyon Rangers. They did not disappoint. Even though bluegrass isn't at the top of my list music genre-wise ~ you can't listen to this music and not tap a toe or quell a smile. And it just made me happy.  Happy is a good place to live.

And how nice of them to sign our CD.  They say "Hey" btw.  

And on a side note - that Edie Brickell (aka Mrs. Paul Simon) - absolutely charming.  I love her!  The Mister recalled a quote of hers I had posted in a previous post. When asked if her husband influenced her music:

"Asking someone to help you create is like asking someone to salt your food ~~ it has to be to your taste."  *Edie Brickell*

And if you are 100 years old like me you smile when you think of the other famous Steve and Eydie.   

Although we are veterans of summer concerts at the city-based main location of the Denver Botanic Gardens this was our first visit to the State Park venue. It is beautiful - we sat on a large groomed lawn with about a thousand or two of our friends ~ a big stage looming to the west and the foothills in the distance as your back drop.

I used to be one of those crazy people clammering to get as close as I could to the stage ~ gotta' get the money shot!  But you just never know when you're going to get busted for being a "professional photographer" (anyone with a DSLR and anything other than a kit lens is sometimes deemed thus) ~ and after a few years and many concerts, I decided there is something to be said for being in the moment.  

And not stuck behind a lens missing the moment. 

So this is my crappy cell phone shot. 

My crappy cell phone shot of an [almost] full moon rising

and the thunderheads building on the eastern plains

Which reminds me of a couple of funny lines Steve shared:

"We are so happy to be performing here tonight for you and your cell phones."

And when the winds picked up at sunset (as they will in the foothills particularly) and the 500 lb speakers on either side of the stage started swaying dangerously from their hangers, Steve looked rather nervously (we had binoculars) at one of the stage hands and said, "Should we be worried, Mr. Speaker Man?"  A pause.  "Wait. I see one thumb up. Can I get two?"

(It was incredibly windy for about 15 minutes.  We discovered when we returned home - waaaaaay east of the concert venue - that our neighborhood had been under a tornado warning - sirens and everything. Simba and A-choo slept right thru it.)

So, since we've become - like - (I'm channeling my innner 12 year old) event addicts ~ coming up next Cirque du Soleil's Amaluna in August and a return to Lucy Restaurant and Comedy Works in September for one of our favorite guys Weeds' -  Kevin Nealon.

So take that biopsy results - whatever they may be!!  Bring it.

Time Love and Tenderness

The saga continues...

Pretty in pink I guess.  

It was re-check time today. The good news is - first of all - I am getting to know my nurse and PA and I like them both very much. There's something nice about feeling comfortable enough to joke around or be serious ~ and to be absolutely completely honest with each other. Now that was a freeing feeling for me - someone who has always been somewhat intimidated by the medical profession. It probably helps being my - ahem... age - but also having an awesome niece who herself is an ER doctor.  Knowing her since she was 16 it is so heartwarming to have followed her path and her successes. She overcame incredible obstacles to get to where she is today and I am so proud of her. Y

But I digress.

So some of the issues are showing improvement; some are deemed nothing to worry about. But one pesky little issue needs some further investigation. So in a couple of weeks I have a date with a 45 minute needle in my neck!  Oh joy.  What fun! And again - could be something; could be nothing.

But I refuse to worry.

Or stop being goofy.

Or lose my sense of humour.

Or stop walking.

Or stop working.

Or stop renewing my love affair with The West Wing.  The most brilliantly written, excellently cast, beautifully acted television show ever.  

Or celebrating life.

When my PA read my very detailed blood pressure measuring 

spreadsheet (which she said was - very, very good - 

great information and I said, I'm a little OCD),

she said, "I see that your BP goes down 

when you have a glass of wine 

and spend time with your husband. 

Talk to your husband more and drink more wine!"

I looked at her and wanted to kiss her.

Then she said, "Oh no, no... not so much the wine."

So I drank champagne.

I was reminded on my way home from the clinic that I tend to have musical mantras that define certain times in my life.  I've had my Jackson Browne time.  And my Billy Joel days and more...

I was and always will be a Parrothead.  I know just about every lyric to every Jimmy Buffett song EVER.  Years ago when he played at Red Rocks Amphitheatre he dedicated this song  to me.  I don't remember why. But it is a sweet memory.

Sometimes life takes you on paths you don't see coming ~ could never predict. In 1991 Michael Bolton got me thru my divorce.

So when I was driving home today - assimilating all that I had learned in the last 30 minutes - Lenny popped up in my iPod. And I thought - ok then. That is the mantra for now.  Dammit. Stand up to whatever comes your way, baby.

Sweet dreams, peeps.

A Salute to Sunday Mornings

One of the longest running television shows on air today is CBS Sunday Morning  It first aired on January 28, 1979 and I've been watching ever since.  I tune in on Sunday mornings at 8 am knowing I will learn something and be delightfully entertained.  I love the things they find to share with us ~ obscure and interesting people in the world of art and music, a famous person thrown in here and there, as well as some plain and simple funny stuff. There are a fair share of serious reports as well; but I have to admit it is the cultural segments that really wow me.

For instance ~ yesterday I learned what plants know

I enjoyed an interview with one of my favorite guys Alan Alda which really touched on something I wrote about just yesterday.  I was talking about technology and how we should never assume people know what we're talking about.  Alan Alda is saying the same thing about science and scientists.  Those folks are so smart (I know a few personally - and yowza - are they smart) ~ but science is a language unto itself.  So when, say, scientists go to Capitol Hill to testify and try to solicit funding for research, most of the people they are talking to don't have a clue what they are saying. Which doesn't make congress people really anxious to give them money.

So Professor Alda is teaching scientists how to relate to the lay person so they can understand.  Not to dumb it down - just to make things more relatable.  

I have observed my mister doing that when speaking IT with clients.  He talks in terms that they can understand - not to demean or insult them; but just so they can relate.

(Working in the IT field does have it's advantages.  And disadvantages.)

And finally I can usually count on something in a CBS Sunday Morning broadcast to touch my heart.  Especially in light of the tragedies last week with the Boston Marathon bombing and the explosion in West, Texas a story on dealing with regret made us think about how life can change on a dime.  And how important it is to let our loved ones know each day how precious they are.

It prompted the mister to walk up to me with a hug and say, "I'm sorry we had a disagreement on Friday."  (Wait. Here's a tissue for ya')

So if you've never caught the program grab a cuppa' and tune in some Sunday  morning.  I think you will enjoy. :)