Signs of spring, Part 3

Dale getting ready to go play golf today. And not too happy about being photographed right after I told him he looked kind of like a character from "Beavis and Butthead" in his hoodie.

Signs of spring, Part 2

Whenever I see tulips in Dillons this time of year, it's a sign of spring coming.

Signs of spring, Part 1

Bonnie Bing, working at home on organizing her spring fashion section.

Little Lillian

Meet Lillian Ro Grover. She is the 1-month-old daughter of my friend, Katie, who visited the newsroom today to show off this beautiful little girl.

Mama Katie with her darling daughter and Bonnie Bing.

Art class

I interviewed Jim Bray today for a story I'm writing. He's an artist from Joplin, Mo., who's having an exhibit at Friends U.  Great guy and great artist.

I love his work but it is priced way out of my range.

 

   Josie and Luke snuggled into our bed to watch "Aliens in the Attic" with Dale. I think Josie must have a loose tooth!

Poker faces

Dale and I played in a charity poker tournament today. We ended up giving all of our money to charity, for sure. Dale, however, was the very first person in the entire tournament to go out, and he actually came out a winner because his consolation prize was a free $50 entry fee in a tournament in two weeks and a $20 gift certificate to a local restaurant. Our friend Molly amassed a small fortune in chips early in the tournament, but ran into bad luck later. Six of us played in the tournament and after most of us busted out, we gathered at Molly's house to eat dinner and play more cards.

Of the six of us, Nick lasted the longest in the tournament.

Dale, checking out his bag of goodies before the tournament started.

New addition

We continued our buying spree with a new dishwasher. Can you tell I'm getting desperate with this daily photo challenge?

Squirrel attack

Barney showing his toy rodent no mercy.

What's wrong with this picture?

Day after day, co-workers ask me when we're going to take down the Christmas wreath under the TV. I tell them: soon. The wreath belongs to Bonnie Bing, who always decorates our work area at Christmas. So I have put the matter in her hands.

He's back

It was a welcome sight to see Jim Hollaway back at work today, after a six-week absence to recover from a nasty fall from atop a ladder at the Eagle. Jim is the Eagle's head of building operations, and he was helping to repair the ceiling in our conference room when he fell on Dec. 30. He broke his hip, but is expected to have a complete recovery. He's still getting around on crutches, but he says he's feeling good. He's a tough guy. Beccy Tanner was happy to see him back, too.

Having his cake

Lunch was at Caffe Moderne, where Dale had the breakfast buffet that included a pretty decadent chocolate-peanut butter cake. Happy Valentine's Day.

KFC with the kids

The grandkids' favorite fine-dining establishment is KFC, so we took them to the buffet for dinner tonight.

They are known to act pretty silly at dinner -- or pretty much anywhere else.

Especially Josie, who is the definition of a class clown.

I asked her to take a picture of Dale and me, and she said she would as long as we didn't do anything "romantic." We behaved.

Early Valentine

I was pleasantly surprised to receive an early Valentine's Day bouquet from Dale today. He's such a darling.

Geese: A recurring theme?

I think this photo-a-day-blog has some recurring themes: food, grandkids, Barney and nature. These Canada geese are abundant in our neighborhood, I guess because we live so close to the river. But today, a small flock of about 10 were in my front yard. Is goose poop good for the grass?

What I really wanted

This is what I really wanted to get when I went into Mead's Corner today to get a latte: gelato. Yum.

Pretty pictures

I'm kind of liking these photos I took today of the newly fallen snow in Wichita. This is along the Arkansas River in Riverside.

This is in Oak Park in Riverside.

And this is in my front yard. Pardon the Dumpster.

Chef Dale

Dale is a good cook, but he doesn't prepare too many meals for us. Today was different. He was in the mood for chicken vegetable soup (not my favorite) so he diced, sliced and chopped away the afternoon. It turned out really yummy (thanks in part to the turkey stock I made at Thanksgiving and had stowed away in the freezer for a cold winter day.)

Not all of my paperwhites bloomed, more proof of the black thumb I seem to have. But what did emerge is pretty! Thanks, Bonnie.

Movie night

Tonight was movie night at Denise's house. We had chili made by Molly, broccoli salad made by Carrie and chocolate chip cookie bars made by Denise, who donned her pug-colored Snuggie to enjoy the movie, "The Hangover." It was the second viewing for most of us, but we needed something mindless and funny. And it was more hilarious the second time around.

Wilburpalooza

Yep, that's what they called a night of music and dance at Wilbur Middle School, where Bret teaches band. Tonight, Bret's professional band, Blue Eyed Soul, played an hour-long set after his school jazz band performed as part of Wilburpalooza.

The kids went crazy for Bret's band.

Here's just some of them gathered around the stage at the beginning of the concert by Bret's band. They grew in numbers and you'd have thought the Beatles were on stage the way they were screaming, head pumping and dancing.

Some of them danced through the auditorium aisles. It was a spectacle. Ah, to be 13 again.

And this is Bret directing his jazz band (which was by far the best student group!) during Wilburpalooza.

Self portrait

Not necessarily the most flattering, but that's not what's important in a picture of the day! This was taken after walking Barney after work. I always wear this blue hat when I walk Barney on cold days. I"m sure the neighbors laugh about it.

A cliche

The plumber's butt, that is. Look close enough and you'll see it. These are the delivery guys installing our new TV. I use that term loosely because they were unable to properly hook up either of the two new TVs. As a result, I missed the premiere of Season 6 of "Lost" tonight. Best Buy will get an earful tomorrow.

A walk in the park

Barney gets a walk every day, even in the cold and snow. He's a tough little guy.