The Real ToadMama

A post written by one of my favorite bloggers recently got me thinking. I'll tell you the name of this blogger, which is important because names are the issue here, but I must warn you that she exercises her right to free speech a bit more than I do. By that I mean she cusses. A lot.

That's fine with me. I mean, it's a free country, right? I choose to keep my blog relatively clean. Mainly because my Moms read it. So it's a respect thing. Even if I am almost 43 years old (gasp!). I guess even the ToadMama can be old-fashioned...

Anyhoo... Booshy did a post recently that was basically about there actually being other people in the world known as Booshy. Which is pretty odd, considering Booshy is sort of a unique moniker.

But then, so is ToadMama, right? Right? That's what I was wondering when I turned to Google and learned that, much to my dismay, there are other ToadMamas out there!

Of course, I had to be all nosy and check these impostors out. Since they're totally stealing my name. So here's the skinny, in order of their appearance on Google. By the way, I'm the first hit on Google, which is proof that I am the REAL ToadMama. Agreed?

IMPOSTOR(s) #1: The ToadMamas

The ToadMamas are a band, based in Charlottesville, VA, who describe their style as "hopping Celtic, New England, French-Canadian and American roots music."

Um, what?

It's a good thing their site has some sample Toad Tunes.

There's a schedule of appearances, too. Oddly enough, the closest one to me seems to be in Shepherdstown, West Virginia on February 6, which just so happens to be the REAL ToadMama's birthday.

IMPOSTOR #2: Doris "ToadMama" Pearson

This nice lady appears to be an upstanding citizen from Minnesota. She's a bit older than me, but seems relatively normal. Our pets would not get along, that's for sure. My three dogs would probably eat her five cats and four guinea pigs. But, get this, hazelnut coffee and creamer is her favorite. So, we could hang out. She'd just have to leave her pets at home. I think this is her, too. AND she's on Facebook.

IMPOSTOR #3: Tobey aka "ToadMama"

This particular impostor appears to be inactive. But I thought it worth mentioning that she's married to a guy named Mike and, in 2007, they were planning a move to Downeast Maine. I'll have to see if I can dig up more pond scum on this particular individual. 'Cause I love Downeast Maine. And, if she's cool, I might just have to go and meet her. Huh, guess what? Upon further examination, I have determined that she's still active on the 'net and looking for friends. Should I send her an e-mail?

IMPOSTOR #4: Unidentified ToadMama

Not much info here, but there's definite coolness potential. Although, she could be like 12.

NOT REALLY IMPOSTORS, BUT RELATED

Someone that goes by "laughingtodeath" at the Photobucket site created this particular toadmama, which is cute and definitely worth sharing.

LURVELY: Oddly, I found this Web page , which somehow or other gathered all of my favorite Flickr pix for public presentation. Weird.

ART: I now know where to buy a one-of-a-kind polymer clay horned toad sculpture.

SELLING OUT: There's a Toadmamma on eBay, but she has nothing for sale at the time of this writing.

So... after much time spent wading through and following links on seven Google pages, that's all I've got. There aren't as many ToadMama's as I feared.

And I still say I am the REAL ToadMama.

I'm At a Loss for Words

Most days, if I woke up to this, I'd be all excited.

I mean, it snowed!

I love snow.

But it's been snowing so much lately, it just feels like more of the same.

My first thought, of course, was to turn the dogs loose in the backyard and grab the camera.

But just how many snow pictures can one person take?

How much can one person say about snow?

Sigh...

Our Ski Adventure

As mentioned here on Tuesday, Eric and I went skiing yesterday. The trip was a success, even if things did not go exactly as planned.

Here's what was planned... drive to the WV place on Tuesday night. It's about an hour from Wisp. We would leave there early on Wednesday to ski, spend the night at the WV place on Wednesday, then drive home this morning (Thursday).

Eric got off work late on Tuesday, so we didn't leave my house until 11:00 PM. It's a three-hour drive to the WV place. So we should have arrived at about 2:00 AM. I say should have because we hit a bit of trouble. Nothing horrible, but we were definitely delayed.

Before I tell you what happened, you need a bit of background. The WV place is not far east of Wisp. It's more in the foothills than the mountains, so it's not subject to the extreme mountain weather that hits the mountains not far west of the cabin. We haven't been to the WV place since Thanksgiving. They were hit with the same blizzard as us in December. But that was like three weeks ago, so we figured the snow would be gone.

We were wrong.

Hubby wisely convinced me to take our big, bad four-wheel-drive truck instead of my car (wimpy little sedan).

Unfortunately, not even the big, bad 4wd truck was a match for the foot of compacted icy snow on Turkey Hollow Road.

We got stuck. A mere 100 yards down Turkey Hollow Road. We were only about 1/4 mile from the house at that point, but...

It was 2:00 AM. It was dark. It was COLD.

It didn't take long for us to realize the truck was not moving an inch in either direction, so we grabbed our essentials and walked the rest of the way. Lucky for us there were flashlights in the truck!

I did mention that it was cold, right? About 20 degrees. The heat at the cabin stays set at 50 degrees when we are not there. It felt absolutely balmy at first. Because it would have taken hours for the radiant heat system to kick in, we just slept in the back bedrooms, which each have their own baseboard heating systems. It was 40 degrees back there. By the time we went to bed at about 3:30, it had warmed up to 45 degrees. Eric had an electric blanket and I had lots of layers, so we were okay.

I seriously had no idea there would be that much snow left at the WV place. Here are some pictures I shot on Wednesday morning...

Our (undrivable) driveway.

The house surrounded by snow.

Another shot of the driveway from just outside of the garage.

The big hill on Turkey Hollow Road, heading back toward where the truck was stuck. Notice all the critter tracks? It's a mix of deer, turkey and people tracks (Eric and me).

Looking down Turkey Hollow Road toward our driveway.

Eric with shovel and rake in hand. Those were all the tools we had to work with to free the truck.

More people tracks, me and Eric, going and coming, taken from right in front of the truck looking down Turkey Hollow Road.

That's Romney in the distance.

Just after we crossed the Potomac River back into Maryland, south of La Vale. Notice the pretty blue skies? It did not last long.

Not far west of La Vale on I-68.

The highway exit ramp from I-68 onto US-219 at Keyser's Ridge.

Eric (dude in center) adjusting his boot.

Here I am. I felt like a mummy. I was warm, but being so bundled up made it hard to take pictures, which is why there aren't many action shots. Plus, it snowed all day. They'd gotten 5 to 8 inches of snow the previous day and were predicting another 4 to 8 inches yesterday. The snow was awesome. The wind was bitter.

Skiing in powder was quite a treat, once we got used to it. It's a bit different than skiing on packed snow.

The ride home was quite scenic with all of the snow stuck to the trees. (The farther east we traveled, the less snowy it was.)

All in all, we had a good time. Aside from the 30-40 minutes required to free the truck, that is.

We will definitely try to do it again. Wisp has a special on Wednesdays where you can ski for $21 all day, 9 am to 9 pm. The same lift ticket costs $39 per person any other non-holiday weekday and $59 per person on weekends and holidays. It was quite a deal. And there were NO lift lines. None.

Hopefully it will be a little bit warmer next time.

A Little Humor Won't Hurt

Hypnotism at the Senior Center
(submitted via e-mail by my brother, Tom Reichard)

It was entertainment night at the Senior Center.

Claude the hypnotist exclaimed: "I'm here to put you all into a trance. I intend to hypnotize each and every member of the audience."

The excitement was almost electric as Claude withdrew a beautiful antique pocket watch from his coat. The polished metal gleamed in the light.

Claude the hypnotist said: "I want you each to keep your eyes on this antique watch. It's a very special watch. It's been in my family for six generations."

He began to swing the watch gently back and forth while quietly chanting, "'Watch the watch, watch the watch, watch the watch."

The crowd became mesmerized as the watch swayed back and forth, light shimmering off its polished surface. Hundreds of pairs of eyes followed the swaying watch, until, suddenly, it slipped from the hypnotist's fingers and fell to the floor, shattering into a hundred pieces.

"SHIT!" said the hypnotist.

It took three days to clean up the Senior Center...


My Very Expressive, All-Boy Grandson
(plus ToadMama having a wee bit of fun with Photoshop)

Dear Reader:

You won't fully appreciate the small details that totally make this picture unless you click on the image and check out the larger size. So, please. Humor me. Put down that darn Crackberry/iPhone, whatever and look at the full-size view.

Fondly,
ToadMama

Did you look at the larger version? Well, did you?

Why not?
(The faces this boy makes crack me up!)

K Finally Expelled Her Tapeworm
(submitted by Jenn Myers, K's awesome foster Mom)

She really did. The above photo is a reenactment, staged by K's foster Mom who just may have a sense of humor weirder than me. Maybe. If not, she's pretty darn close!


Where Mom Jeans Really Come From
(submitted by Shannon, my oldest, globetrotting daughter)

Shannon found this Mom-cotton store in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. That's gotta be what they use to make Mom jeans, right? Mystery solved! Thanks, Shan.


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought...
(found by little ole me while shopping for dog bones)

Amazon.com definitely has its pluses and its minuses, but I still shop there often because they have lots of stuff and you can usually find pretty good prices. For the life of me, I don't know why local brick-and-mortar retailers either don't sell compressed rawhide rolls or do sell them for exhorbitant prices. But that's a whole 'nother story.

I found the rawhide rolls on Amazon at a good price. And I got a little giggle out of the deal. Check out the "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought" recommendation.

You'd think more than one person would have to buy this item for it to qualify as a recommendation, right? Could it just be a weird coincidence that multiple customers bought professional noise canceling earmuffs with the bones?

I confess, I didn't so much giggle as just scratch my head and wonder what's up with that?


Wacky Web Sites You Might Enjoy
(most of these were found by Hubby)

Is your partner one of those not-so-handy men? If yes, you should be able to relate to this one. If no, go look anyway, just for some giggles.

Do you always feel like somebody is watching you? Apparently, lots of other people do, too. They see Faces in Some of the Weirdest Places. You may never look at things around you in quite the same way.

Need a cartoon for your Blog? There are some cool--FREE--ones to use at www.BZToons.com. Like this one, which made me think of K's foster Mom...


Here's one that describes yesterday's weather...


Speaking of crappy... you have reached the end of today's post.

That's a weak closing, I know. Sorry. I'll try to do better tomorrow.

It's All in How You Look at It

Do you find this picture depressing?

Wait. Click on the image so you can see the full-size version before you answer.

Okay. Now, do you find this picture depressing?

At first glance, I did. I mean, it's sort of dark. The trees look dead. The marsh grass is all brown.

But the more I looked at it, really looked, I found it sort of peaceful. It's like a different world in a way. It's certainly different than the world most of us live in. It's a place where all you would be likely to hear is the sound of water lapping against the grass with the ebb and flow of the tides, the wind rustling the grass, birds calling, geese honking. Occasionally, you might hear the shrill scream of a hawk.

It's not a place where you'd have to endure hurtful comments from complete strangers. If you don't follow that link and read the blog post it takes you to, you won't know why I so want to fly to Provo, Utah where I would hunt down and kick the ass of that stupid, STUPID woman who could be so completely insensitive and say such a thoughtless thing to one of my heroes. You don't have to follow the link to know the stupid sort of stuff people can say.

We all have days when we feel down. Tired. Exhausted. Depressed. Pissed off. Whatever.

For me, yesterday was a pissed-off day. I'm thinking it's mostly PMS. Exacerbated, of course, by various things I had to deal with throughout the day. I won't bore you with the details. Just trust me when I say it wasn't a happy day.

I woke up this morning optimistic. Hoping today would be better. Then I read NieNie's blog (to which the aforementioned link leads). She's such a beautiful person. And she always reminds me that I really have absolutely nothing to complain about.

But when I read what that idiotic cow of a woman said to her, it just pissed me off again. It really made me just want to scream. Jeez, people. Think about what you say before you say it.

I already know my day is going to be unpleasant. Mostly 'cause my job can sometimes be a real pain-in-the-ass. For a variety of reasons. I know you don't want or need to know the reasons. I KNOW it could be way worse. I just had to throw out there that work is the primary source of my frustration. But, as Hubby says, it's a necessary evil. (Not that hearing that helps the least little bit...)

Anyway... I'll stop whining now, suck it up and move on. Maybe things will get better as the day progresses. Maybe. I don't have high hopes, but one never knows what the day will bring.

I should add the following picture to my desktop...

I can't look at that image and not smile...

All Good Things Must End

Well, just as I feared it would, the worst has happened.

I have completely depleted my supply of Seattle's Best flavored coffee.

We killed the wine, which was very good by the way, way back when our friends, Annelies and Yves, from Belgium stopped for a visit.

I could have bought some Hazelnut and Vanilla Bean Seattle's Best at Amazon, but it is now out of stock. I may need to call that co-worker of mine, who lives in Washington (the state), to see if he can hook me up.

Luckily, the non-flavored varieties of Seattle's Best coffee are still available here in Maryland. It's very good, too, by the way. But I LOVE the Hazelnut. I really like the Vanilla Bean, but Hazelnut is the best. In my opinion. Which, go ahead and say it, is all that really matters here at ToadMama's Web Abode.

Have a happy Thursday!

Waking Up is Hard to Do

This, my friends, is your conventional alarm clock. Sort of. More on that later.

Most days, I don't need an alarm clock. Unless I want to wake up before approximately 7:15 a.m.

It's not that I'm one of those old people that says, "I don't need an alarm clock. I wake up at 6:23 every single day."

I do need to be woken up, I just don't need an alarm clock to do it.

Confused?

Yes, I did just say I don't need a clock, but I do need to be woken. I don't need a clock to wake me because I have a natural alarm Belle.

THIS is my natural alarm Belle...

And it's the cutest little alarm Belle ever.

Belle's small for a Brittany. Not just in girth, either. She's vertically challenged.

My bed is about 6 inches shorter than this birdbath. When Belle stands beside the bed, like she's standing beside the birdbath, all you can see are her feet, forelegs and cute little face. When she's ready to get up (rarely later than 7:15), she comes and stands beside the bed. If I move or make a sound, she gets all excited and starts beating on the bed with her forelegs (picture a dog playing bongos) and wiggling her whole body. I can only actually see her cute little face moving, but I know her whole body is moving because it's a typical Brittany wiggle.

I could be upset, especially on weekends when it would be nice to sleep in. But she's so darn cute I can't ignore her. Once I pet her, she gets even more excited. She even smiles. And I am such a sucker for a cute little Brittany smile.

As for the alarm clock not being conventional... as I was looking for alarm clock images to adorn this post, I discovered this clock, which actually holds and plays MP3s. Cool, eh? I was all excited until I visited the store that supposedly sells it (ThinkGeek.com) only to learn that they no longer sell it. I'm guessing it was way popular. I'll have to search for another merchant.

I was disappointed, yes. But while there, I couldn't resist looking around. They sell fun stuff like this coaster.

Got a geeky kid to shop for? Try this cool Jr. Astronaut Helmet.

How about a new t-shirt for your geeky Hubby? Um, you may need to be a little geeky yourself to get that one. If you do have a geeky Hubby, you should buy one of these. Just to make him feel good, know what I'm sayin?

Got a geek who likes chilled shots but hates that they get watered down? These little doohickeys are quite ingenious. I think they'd be a fun gift, too.

How about a spouse that is fascinated by gadgets and LED lights? This is the ultimate kitchen gadget.

OK, I think you get the picture.

I'm off to get more coffee...

Oh, Enough Already

You know, it's been almost two weeks and I STILL have this annoying cold.

You know what I say to that? Enough already!

Seriously, you know how hard it is to run like this?

I mean, I don't feel horrible. In fact, most of the day I am okay. It's the mornings and evenings that are hardest.

I did my 3.2 miles the other day (running and walking; I still can't run the whole way) thinking maybe it would actually clear my head a bit.

Wrong. It just gave me a splitting headache. I am hoping today is better.

Nights are the worst. That's when the coughing fits set in.

I haven't gotten much sleep this week as a result. So last night, I decided to take an Ambien, which I keep on hand for emergencies. Then Hubby came to bed. After rooting around in the bathroom cabinet for a bit, he emerged with some heavy duty cough syrup.

"Try this," he said.

I was a bit hesitant since I'd already taken that Ambien and the cough syrup contained codeine. But figured, what the hey.

Well, it worked. I slept like a rock. This morning it took a bit longer than usual to wake up. I'm still sort of congested, but at least I had a good night's sleep.

My brain is still a bit fuzzy. I feel about as clear as I look in my little cartoon image (click on it so you get to see a larger version). But things seem to be getting clearer, slowly but surely. Which is good, 'cause now I have to get to work. Ugh.

More Odds Than Ends

My duck arrived last week.

What duck? Why, FibroDuck! I explained it here earlier this month.

Belle, who is never far from my side, helped with the photo shoot.

Seeing Double

If you like seeing cute little moose, you just have to check out this video, which Hubby stumbled across last week.

Finally, a Diagnosis

Did you know there's actually a name for the disease that afflicts people like me, which makes stupids songs like this one pop into your head at odd moments and get stuck there?



Well, there is. And I can't believe I hadn't heard of it before now.

Earworm. Yes, earworm. Hubby gets credit for discovering that one, too. Yes, the Internet obsession runs in the family.

My New Obsession

Video mashups.



If you really want to watch this video, do it at YouTube. I couldn't get it to embed properly. First, it was too big. Then it was too small.

I discovered video mashups all by myself while verifying that "earworm" is not just a one-shot, made-up word. This is just another way YouTube can suck me in.

And that's all I've got for today.

Hopefully tomorrow will bring more, and better, inspiration.

Looking Forward to Oprah

I'm not an Oprah fan. By that, I don't mean I don't like Oprah, I just mean I don't watch it on a regular basis. Heck, I hardly ever watch it. And I'm pretty sure I have never looked forward to and/or made a point to watch for a specific reason.

Tomorrow, I am watching. 'Cause tomorrow, NieNie is going to be on Oprah. She's the lady I told you about back in August who, with her husband, survived a plane crash. Despite horrific burns, she survived and is thriving. Scarred, yes, but somehow more beautiful than ever. I have to make sure I have plenty of Kleenex on hand. Not because Stephanie and her family are sad, but because they are just so darn inspiring. And who can't use a dose of inspiration every now and then?

Happy Birthday, Hubby!

Today is Hubby's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HUBBY!

Shannon actually took this picture during Christmas 2008. I don't have many images of Hubby to choose from as I write this. We're at the WV place and most of my pics are at home on the network. So that one will have to do. Unless you want to look at last year's birthday pics.

Speaking of pictures, here are a few odd ones for you.

The other day in Washington, DC, I saw this woman walking her kid/grand kid on a leash. The first thing I thought was "Jedi on a leash!" A Jedi is a Star Wars character with crazy mental powers.

I've never really been opposed to leashing children. I just think it looks silly and would never do it myself. But if your child is a Jedi Knight, it's probably better to leash her/him.

Speaking of kids looking silly on leashes, check this out.

- - - - -

You've seen signs like this on truck trailers, right?

This is only one example. There are many variations of this warning. In a nutshell, it means this... if you are following a truck with it's right turn signal blinking that moves into the left lane, don't try to pass on the right. If you do, you'll get smushed.

The owner of the trailer shown below apparently got tired of people not understanding the standard wide right turn warning signs and took matters into his own hands.

Hubby gets the credit for spotting this one.

If you click on the image, you'll get a larger view.

- - - - -

Can you guess what this is?

- - - - -

Want more weird pics? Sorry, I'm all out. This site should keep you entertained though.

It is What It ACK!?!

Oh, jeez. Finally, a sign from above, below or elsewhere telling me my life really is going to poop.

Cartoons by Andertoons

I actually said, "It is what it is" to someone during a conversation today. GASP!

I really hate that particular saying.

It was a work-related conversation at that. With a way higher-up at my employer. Someone I don't really know all that well, either. I can't say what possessed me in that moment, but I said it. And no sooner than those five words had crossed my lips, I said, "Oh my God, I cannot buh-lieve I just said that. I HATE that saying."

Yep, I said that to the same person, completely cutting him off.

He just got sort of quiet and said something like, "Well, uh, there you have it."

And that was my excitement today.

Ode to Joy

Now here's a video that's guaranteed to make you smile. Unless you're a total, world-class grump.

Watch the video. Go ahead, I dare you.



I should warn you, you'll probably end up humming the dang tune all day.

Sorry, I should have warned you before I told you to watch.

Kristin at Dragondreamer's Lair, a fellow Wordless Wednesday participant, gets the credit for finding this one.

People Who Hunt

I'm not a hunter. It's not that I am against hunting, it's just that I am a city girl. And I personally don't feel a need to hunt.

Had I grown up in Alaska, where hunting is a necessity for many and a way of life for many more, I'd probably be a hunter, too. And a fisherwoman. And a dogsled owner. And a hiker. I'd probably know how to walk in snowshoes, too.

But back to hunting. The following picture tickled me. This is not the sort of woman I'd picture if someone told me to imagine a woman who hunts. I mean, this chick is one of those naturally pretty women that some other women might secretly hate. She's the type that probably looks good even first thing in the morning, after having slept, unshowered, in a tent. She's got a pretty smile, great hair, and...

...the guts to pose with two recently murdered deer.

Her name is Josy. She looks a bit rougher on day two of hunting. Maybe it's just the bloody deer that makes her look rougher. Or maybe she doesn't look all that great after sleeping in the wild.

I don't know this woman. I saw her in the hunting gallery on the Anchorage Daily News Web site.

Like I said, I'm not a hunter. But if I were, and I shot and had the stomach to butcher and decapitate five deer, this the kind of picture I would take.

Anyway... if you want to see how other folks live and spend their spare time, check out the hunting gallery for yourself.

If nothing else, at least look at the size of the bear this kid killed.

Oh my.

Water, Water Everywhere

I've never been a short girl. I'm 69 inches tall (5'9" for the mathematically challenged). Yesterday a 72-inch water main broke in Dundalk. A pipe large enough that I could stand inside of it, fully erect, with three inches to spare. Damn.

Check out these Baltimore Sun reader photos. There are more photos here. It took over two hours to shut the thing down.

If Your Friends Jumped Off a Cliff...

...would you follow them?

I'm hoping you're the kind of person that would say, "But of course."

Because I'm about to ask something of you. You see, I am...

It's pretty simple, really. I'd just like more people to admit that they actually read my blog. Or at least stop by periodically to see all my cool pictures, read about my wonderful Hubby, SNOOP, admire my dogs, marvel at my adorable grandchildren, follow our motorcycling trips and/or see just how boring my life really is.

Now I know there are quite a few people who read this blog. But only three have admitted to being followers. The funny thing is, I don't know any of them. But I love, Love, LOVE them just the same. Because they've stepped up and admitted publicly that they read my humble little blog.

Becoming a follower is easy. If you are reading this through Facebook (or perhaps on your Crackberry), the first thing you have to do is go to my actual blog. Look for the followers gadget (shown in the following image at lower right).


It's the little box that looks like this.
Click on the button that says Follow, and this window should pop up...


Use one of the designated account types to sign up and just follow the prompts that are presented.

It's that simple.

I won't know when or even if you are reading. So, you could sign up to be a follower and never come back again. If you wanted. By why would you do that? Then you'd miss out on all the fascinating and fun stuff I write about.

I ask this for a couple of reasons. One, it would just make me feel good to know I can prove the existence of more than three readers. Two, if new folks stumble across my blog and see that I only have a limited number of followers, they won't think it's worth hanging out to explore.

Besides, one day when I am rich and famous (as a result of what, I have yet to figure out), you can tell people, "I know ToadMama. I've been following her blog for years."

Please sign up to be a follower.

Pretty please?

Pretty please with sugar, whipped cream and a cherry on top?

Tell your friends to sign up, too. And tell them to let their friends know, as well.

Won't you please help? Click that Follow button now. Or click here.

As Oleta Adams sang, "I don't care how you get here, just get here if you can."

Thanks in advance!

September's Thirsty Third Thursday

Yesterday was the last Thirsty Third Thursday (TTT) of 2009 for Shannon, the oldest of the three younger humans we parented. She'll be leaving for her around-the-world journey in less than two weeks. Yikes! The closer it gets, the more real it is starting to feel.

Anyway... since she'll be away for a while (a year!) we decided last night should be special. Not only did we let Shannon pick the place, we let her invite two guest revelers, too.

The place was none other than Helen's Garden, a cute little restaurant in Baltimore's Canton neighborhood. That's my absolute favorite TTT venue.

Helen's has a very nice happy hour. You'll especially like it if you are a wine drinker. They have half-price appetizers from 5:00-7:00 PM and half-price wine all day until 8:00 PM. Any glass of wine on the wine list is included, which is cool because you get to sample all sorts of wine that you may not take a chance on otherwise. They've got great food, too. And an awesome bartender, named Tim. He's this nice, wholesome, down-to-earth guy (not one iota of bartender sleaziness) who is very good with wine recommendations and takes fabulous care of us when we're there.

The guest revelers were Shannon's very good friend, Laura, and Laura's baby, Ruby.

Shannon has known and talked about Laura for years. I'm so glad to have finally met her. She's an absolute delight. Amy and I decided she could be one of our TTT stand-ins while Shannon is away. We haven't told her that yet, but I'm sure she'll be happy to oblige.



Ruby was a big hit. She is just under six months old, and was very well-behaved.

Tim, the bartender, was nice enough to snap this photo for us.

Here are some other random images from the evening...