Pork!

I'm making my friend Denise's famous recipe for carnitas tonight for Friday night's poker game! Hope they're as good as hers.

Little Lillian, part 2

A little more than one month ago, I took a photo of newborn Lillian Ro Grover, her mother Katie and Bonnie Bing. And today, I snapped the same cast of characters in the newsroom when Katie visited. Lil Ro, as she's called, is getting bigger and cuter every day.

Denise couldn't resist lovin' her, too.

Every home needs one

They were trying to sell these LED trees at the opera tonight ("Carmen.") You too can have one in your home for about $3,000 per tree.

Food fotos!

Lunch at Bella Vita Bistro today, a new Italian restaurant that turned out to be pretty wonderful. Thin threads of carrot and beets topped our house salads. Really beautiful.

And the last course, profiteroles with chocolate and cream and cannoli with an anise-flavored cream.

Construction zone

Work has been difficult lately because the Eagle is replacing its roof -- a $500,000 project. As a result, it is very NOISY in the newsroom.  Here are some of the roofing guys working on a small terrace outside our break room.

Out on the deck. Or what used to be the deck.

Not sure what these guys are doing. But we are all hoping that someday we will have our deck back!

Thai Five

Thai Five is the name of the south Wichita hole in the wall where I had lunch today. The pad Thai with shrimp was yummy. Definitely planning a return visit to this hidden gem.

Josie being Josie

Josie demonstrating her robot walk in Wal-Mart. I was chastised by a store manager for taking photos and was instructed to put my camera away! Stupid Wal-Mart.

Baby shower

Friends of Lori Buselt braved snow and bitter north winds to shower her with baby gifts this afternoon.

Suzanne cuddling with a Pooh blanket that Lori received for her baby's Pooh-themed room.

This was one of the cutest gifts -- a vintage Pooh pull toy.

Lori's sisters set up a pretty tea table for the shower. Hot tea was in big demand on this wintry day.

He loves his job

What's not to like about a business trip to Washington, D.C.? This is a picture of Dale and various City Council and city manager's staff on a bus headed to a restaurant for a dinner with Kansas congressmen tonight.

Learning new skillz

I've done a few videos using iMovie on my mac, but now I''m trying to teach myself to use the editing system that the Eagle (and almost everyone else) uses, which is Final Cut Pro. My friend (and Eagle videographer) Jaime Green is helping me, but I have miles to go before I can do the kind of great videos she creates. Here's one of my favorites by Jaime (you have to sit through the ad at the beginning, but it's worth it!) :http://videos.kansas.com/vmix_hosted_apps/p/media?id=11506064

Dinner time

Shot through the kitchen window.

Big screen TV

This appears to be the main reason we bought a big-screen TV for the living room -- so that Dale could play Wii games.

Eagle sighting

I finally saw the bald eagles nesting near an apartment complex lake a few blocks from our house. The parking lot near the lake is often bustling with people coming and going as they await an eagle sighting. I drove by over my lunch hour today and saw two objects rising from the next. Took these photos on my tiny little camera. I tried to enhance this one without too much luck.

Here's another attempt to photograph them. Local nature expects say the two appear to be fairly young mates who, so far, don't seem to have had any luck laying eggs. They're not positive about that, but all signs indicate they don't have eggs. The season for "conceiving" is nearly over so they may have to try again next year, we're told.

Spring ritual

One of the drawbacks of having a sunroof -- leaks every time it rains. Despite repeated efforts to fix the sunroom windows, rain always finds a way in.

A better day

Better than yesterday, that is (see previous posting.) The rain came and went, leaving everything spring fresh. Barney and I enjoyed the early evening on our walk tonight.

Is it spring yet?

This was my Monday. Awful. The kind of day I hate worse than any other. Tomorrow can only be better!

Oscar night

Dale and I put on our best duds (borrowed, in my case) and went to a Red Carpet party tonight to watch the Academy Awards. Food, drink, big-screen TV, and lots of people in fancy clothes. What's not to like about that?

Dressing up

We tried on fancy dresses today at Bonnie Bing's house for an Oscar night party Sunday. Denise looking divine in her off-the-shoulder gown.

And me, in another one of Bonnie's many gowns. She also lent me jewelry and shoes. That is a good friend to have. Thanks Bonnie!

Piano men

Elton John and Billy Joel played a completely memorable concert tonight. So glad I was able to see and hear them.

John&Joel

Tomorrow is this concert. Looking forward to it not only to see two legends but also because my mom, sisters and nephew are coming to see it with me!