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Home Sweet Home; Twinkies; A Walk in the Park; Julia Who? Banana vs. Beer?

“Well, It’s Another Beautiful Day in The Villages!” Those of us who live in HappyVille have heard that phrase a thousand times, but when we awoke to our first sunrise after the Greek Adventure, it was really true. International travel is fun, exciting and exhausting, and it’s always a joy to sleep in your own bed again. Rudy and Gretchen enjoyed their little vacation with My Good Friend Bob and His Lovely Wife Jan, but we lured the puppies home with promises of treats and kisses. We have seen many of our friends and neighbors who asked how the trip went, and after saying it was fun but tiring, I refer them to previous blog posts for the details…

One of my happy tasks this week was to award Twinkies to Chris Lavender and Psychic Bob Blythe for quizzes they won over the summer. I couldn’t find the delectable little treats when we returned from our coach trip on 1 October (evidently they are still very popular) but found them after our return from Greece (I couldn’t find them in Greece, either… well, what do you expect from Europeans?) Anyway, here are Chris and Bob accepting their rewards. Chris, like Your Trusty Correspondent, is a Twinkie connoisseur. We like our Twinkies frozen, or at least chilled.

I’m pretty sure Bob’s prizes never made it into the house; I heard the crackling of cellophane as we were departing… Bob is evidently not a Twinkies connoisseur. Nevertheless, whether consumed frozen, chilled or at room temperature, or using a knife and fork or simple fingers, I think the satisfied look on the wall emblem says it all about Twinkies!

The weather lately has been beautiful, with crisp, dry mornings and comfortably warm, sunny afternoons. We went out on the Florida Trail near Ocala the other day, one of our favorite hiking venues. Since I am still in training for a Christmas week backpacking trip out west, I decided to carry my 25 lb. pack. My Lovely Bride carried the camera. I wanted her to carry a pack as well, but I got a “What are you, nuts?” look…

While on the trail, she took this photo of an interesting-looking mushroom. I thought about jokingly suggesting that we take it home for dinner…

When do you know you are getting old? It happened to me at our local grocery store yesterday. I was checking out, and the pretty 17 year old girl at the register looked very familiar. I said, “You know, you look just like a young Julia Roberts.” She looked at me with a blank stare and said, “Who is she?” Taken aback, I looked at the 35 year old male bagger and said, “Help me out.” He looked at her and said, “You know, the actress from Pretty Woman.” Another blank stare… “I don’t go to the movies much.” Sigh…

I am in trouble. Again. Those of you who follow My Lovely Bride on Facebook have heard this story, at least her slanted version of the story. Here is My Side, also known as The Real Truth. Suzanne got a recipe from someone for a salad made with black rice. (Now, first of all, everyone knows about good old white rice, and brown rice is probably okay, but really, black rice? C’mon…) Anyway, we were having salmon and Tuscan boule bread, and to go along with it, she makes this recipe with black rice and a bunch of veggies, nuts and some olive oil. There are a couple of veggies that are edible, especially if they are marinated in some olive oil, lots of salt and spices, and then grilled, but chopped up in a salad? She smiled and said, “Want to try this yummy black rice salad?” I replied (Mistake #1), “Okay, if I must…” (Some of you, especially the female contingent, are probably thinking, Ty, (a) that was not a very diplomatic response; and (b), you are doomed.) So I tried it. It was what I expected, kinda really salady and ricey and oily… I asked politely, “Is it supposed to have some meat in it?” That was probably Mistake #2. So I wound up eating my grilled salmon with bread and cheese, and Suzanne ate her salmon with the black rice salad thingie. Yes, I did share my bread with her.

I didn’t get any more grief about the black rice salad until the next day when Suzanne’s Lovely Mom Ruthie came over for lunch. We were having French bread and cheese, and you guessed it, more black rice salad. I didn’t even have to (politely) decline this time, because there was a sign on the salad bowl which read, “For Girls Only; Boys: Hands Off!”

This story does have a happy ending. I have not been relegated to sleeping in the garage, and I think Suzanne regained her bubbly sense of humor after I insulted her culinary expertise. But after a bike ride, she did draw a weapon on me, and I fortunately was able to fend her off with a bottle of Alaskan amber and a pack of Chipotle and Monterey Jack filled hot dogs. Luckily, she decided not to dump the remaining salad on my head….

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