The First Signs of Life Are Here

70 degree weather on Friday, Saturday it drops to 30 degrees and snows. 

 

Jazz Jazz Jazz

Ken and I have a little outing that we participate in once a month.  A couple years ago at the TSHA Fundraising Souper Sunday, I bid on a basket that had goodies from Gilcrease Museum.  The basket included a years membership.  This is when we began the Third Tuesday Jazz.



We have had a lot of fun and it sometimes is our only 'real date' for the month.     Each month, there is a different local group performing with instruments and vocal jazz plus. 
Most of the attendees are older couples.  Part of the fun is these 'oldies' love to dance with the music.     I don't dance but I love to watch others dance.    There are a few couples I really look forward to watching them have fun.


Gilcrease is a beautiful museum featuring western art with a strong emphasis on the Indian art.


Gilcrease sits on a hill overlooking downtown Tulsa from the west.



Tonight I took the little Fuji -- just for the fun of it.



The 3rd Tuesday night Jazz offers a buffett for $5 a person.   The food is mostly the same thing but it is good.      The buffet consists of fruit tray, cheese tray,  green salad and a couple choices of pasta dishes with a simple dessert -- often bread pudding.



Two years ago the cost was $4 and included a much larger selection of  drinks.    The Tulsa University took over the management and upped the price and cut some items.






Tonight the group was really good.  It was a 3-man team called SCORE with the keyboard players' wife, Sandy Gardner as the vocalist.      What a pleasant voice.









It is an early evening, 5:30 to 7:30 and we can be home by 8:00 -- remember it caters to the older population.    There are even groups from independent living centers bussed in.


With the daylight savins time change, it was still daylight when we left the event tonight.     We drove around town and stopped in and looked around at the Borders Book Store on the way home.


What an exciting Date Night!    Thanks Ken for loving to be with me.

http://gilcrease.utulsa.edu/

A Cooking Day

My job for this morning was cancelled so I decided to take advantage and do some 'stay at home wife' cooking. With the children all gone, I don't cook nearly as often.  So of course, I wanted to use Sommer's new Blog.   However, I had also wanted to make Laura's Oat Nutty pancakes for a while and decided to make them for breakfast.   Usually, Ken and I drink a protein shake for breakfast but today was a special 'good duty wife' day.
The pancakes were probably the best I have ever tasted. I could have eaten them straight from the pan without any butter or maple syrup.

Next, I had the ingredients for Sommer's mini meatloaf and mashed cauliflower so that was to be our late lunch.  My next interpreting job was not until 3:30 pm.  So I set off to make lunch and extra freeze ahead for later mini-meatloafs.   Here is the proof, I actually still cook once in a while. 
There is always something that I seem to alter when I cook.   First of all, I missed the step of putting all the veggies in the food processer to the consistency of applesauce.  Did not see it until they were already mixed.   Then I did not have the chili sauce, so substituted catsup.  It was fine, and smelled wonderful baking in the oven. 
Ken could not guess what the mashed cauliflower was (guessed turnips) but he loved it.   I've made it before just because it has far less calories.
  
So here you have it, a Nana Cooking day and having fun learning from the younger generation.  The next time, I'm going to do the cheese grits and the 'dead' banana bread.
As a side thought, today for some reason seems to be a potential teary-eyed day.  First Ken was reading to me an e-mail story about a friend named Jim who as age and time went by "I" kept putting off getting in touch with, until it was too late and "I" got the notice that Jim died.  He choked up reading it to me.
Then I was reading Laura's blog about her trip to India.  I was identifying with Sommer's trips to India I guess, but I did not know you could cry reading a food blog.  You will have to check it out.  I'll post the link for the items I made on this cooking day as well as Indian Curry. 
http://darkredcrema.com/2010/03/julie-sahnis-gosht-kari-meat-curry-an-indian-summer/
http://aspicyperspective.blogspot.com/2010/02/dinners-beauty-treatment.html
http://darkredcrema.com/2010/02/whole-grain-oat-nut-pancakes/
And dear friends and family, if you have not been checking out A Spicy Perspective, you must read it and try the recipies.  They are mostly easy enough for anyone to prepare and the reading is great.  We have another budding writer/producer stimming from the Papa Montgomery blood-line.   Sign up as a followerer and you will get the links each time she post something new.  Again, it is the http://aspicyperspective.blogspot.com/