Not a Saturday Morning Post

Hi there. I'm here today to express some frustration. As I wrote on my Facebook status: "I'm still upset about last night's dinner. (details published elsewhere)." This blog is my 'elsewhere'. So what am I so upset about? The price. Let me give you the whole story . . .

Yesterday, as I do nearly every Saturday, I was working my ass off in the backyard. I started by cleaning the swimming pool. Our pool is currently empty, and is in need of serious cleaning before we fill it with water for this summer's fun and enjoyment. I've done this routine before - the serious spring cleaning that is necessary after the pool has been sitting empty since the previous fall. The only thing I've done over the past several months is drain the rain water that accumulates.

I have to balance multiple duties each weekend. The reason is, if I only do one thing - something else equally as important will not get done. So I take a break from pool prep duty and switch to yard work. I tried to finish the hedge that I started last Saturday. I'm still working on one of the taller portions of the hedge, which means a lot of climbing up and down on my ladder carrying the trimmer. I get done with this section of the hedge, and realize that I have to start watering. We only have sprinklers for the lawn in the backyard, so all other watering must be done by hand.

About an hour later, I'm done with what I can do for the day, and my wife asks if we can go to Taco Nazo. Taco Nazo is a Mexican fast food restaurant. I'm agreeable to this since (a.) I'm hungry and tired, and (b) Laura is in no mood to cook dinner. (Here's a secret that I've never shared: Laura is NEVER in the mood to cook dinner).

So off to Taco Nazo we went. They have a dine-in area, but there is no waiter service. You place your order at the window, find a booth or table to sit at, and wait for your number to be called. Then you eat. Laura ordered two shrimp tacos and an order of ceviche. Ceviche is some concoction of shrimp and vegetables served in a cup that you scoop on to a tostada shell. I ordered a carnitas burrito. Each of us order a soft drink. The bill comes to $41. FORTY-ONE EFFEN DOLLARS!! FOR WHAT?? Of course I didn't yell that, but I did ask about the price. That's when Laura tells me her ceviche is $24.99.

I hardly spoke a word throughout dinner. And was generally [more] grumpy [than usual] the rest of the evening. I was still upset when I woke up this morning to get ready for church. That's when I decided the only way to get over this was to let it out for all the world to read. If I put this on Facebook, I knew Laura would be even more upset with me than I was about dinner. Besides, this is too wordy for Facebook. This way I can write as much as I want, and I will not embarrass her. (Laura is very sensitive of what I write on Facebook if it's anything negative). So that's it. I've vented and I feel [marginally] better. Thanks for letting me share another example of Laura overspending.

The Saturday Morning Post - June

Hi Blogger friends. I hope you all are fine. Here are a couple of updates on people and events going on in my life.

The Baby

Jordan is about two months away from being born, but if you look at my wife Laura, you would think she is either having twins, or that she is 9 1/2 months pregnant. Here is the most recent picture of Laura:
Laura has developed a nasty rash, similar to and worse than the one she had when she was pregnant with our daughter Nina. Hang in there honey! In other Laura news, she recently completed her initiation into the Catholic church. Laura was baptized as a child, but her parents didn't enroll her in catechism to make sure she received her other sacraments. After we got married, and with encouragement from me and her grandmother, she enrolled in the adult program at our church. She has now made 3 other sacraments: Reconciliation, Eucharist and Confirmation. Here's a picture from Pentecost Sunday, when she received her first communion and was confirmed:
Brady

Brady and his all star cheer squad did not keep their world championship title. They finished 2nd, and the squad they beat last year retook their title from the year before. Brady's squad was understandably disappointed. I don't have any pictures from the Worlds competition that was held in Florida because we were unable to attend. This picture of Brady and some of his cheer friends is from the competition in Irvine, CA:
In other Brady news, he attended the prom this year. He and a large group of friends pitched in for a limo. The photo sessions conducted by the parents took place in multiple locations and lasted nearly two hours. I'll make the sharing a little easier for you and only show one image:
Nina

Nina is running for vice president at school. I'll report next month on the outcome of the campaign. Later today, we will participate in the next installment of the Home Depot Kid's Workshop. Last weekend, we went to the Colorado river and stayed with some friends. Here is a picture of me and Nina on our friend's boat:

A couple of months ago, my post included a piece about Angel's Flight. As promised, I have pictures of how it appears today. But just to take it one more step, I borrowed a picture from the web of how it looked over 100 years ago. Let's begin there, with this photo taken in 1903:

In the photo above, you can clearly see the 3rd Street tunnel and the train car at the bottom of it's run. In this next photo, which I posted previously, you can't really see the tunnel, but you can see the top part of the retaining wall. I suspect this photo was taken from the roof of the Fay Building on the corner of 3rd & Hill:
Below is the intersection of 3rd & Hill, taken on Fri. 6-4-10, the same intersection where the two pictures above were taken. Below, you can barely see the 3rd Street tunnel with all the buildings surrounding it:
And finally, a few hundred feet south of where it once stood, Angle's Flight as it appears today. I was fortunate to have the car at the bottom of it's run as I drove by:

Well that's all for this month's post. See you next month on a Saturday morning.