It was that time again . . . time for another birthday.  Stan turned over another tick on the counter this past weekend.  We had high hopes of going to the beach and then out for a nice dinner.  Unfortunately, none of that worked out.  Not at all.  We overslept in the morning, but it didn’t matter because going to the beach was a loser idea as it turned out.  The day was cloudy and stormy, with even some tornado warnings.

We ended up doing mostly nothing all day.  I woke up with a case of pink eye, which I caught from Stan.  I was tired and grumpy about my eye, and Stan was tired from his long week of work.

We ended up going out for a nice dinner at a local Italian place in our neighborhood.  It was quite good, but not “birthday special”.  Hopefully, when we’re both feeling better we can go out and really celebrate his birthday.

The night before his birthday we went to dinner at “Corks” as part of the “Restaurant Week” event.  We had never been there before and were interested to see what is was like.  They did not offer their full menu, only the Restaurant Week menu, but that was fine.  The most notable dish was the Watermelon Salad which Stan thoroughly enjoyed.  We had two good wines as well, my favorite the Rock Syrah.

Stan continues his workouts with his personal trainer and he is really looking trim and fit.  I’m really proud of him for sticking with it, because it is really hard with his very full work schedule.

He recently got a full physical from his doctor and he appears to be in great shape with all his “settings” in the normal zone.

It wasn’t a big blowout celebration this year, but I guess some years are like that.  Nevertheless, I am ever-thankful for Stan’s birthday and I know that I am very blessed to have him in my life.

H A P P Y   B I R T H D A Y   S T A N !

I went for a short walk today around my immediate neighborhood and was surprised at all the interesting things to see and the numerous photo opportunities.  My walk was cut short by a rumbling rain shower, but I managed to take a few fun shots before that happened.

I will definitely be taking more walks from time to time and especially as the seasons begin to change.  I saw a lot of flowers, trees, and plants that I do not know.  These walks may help me broaden my botanical knowledge.  I also saw a birdhouse which may belong to bluebirds which I would love to capture with the camera.

It was great being off work today, on a weekend, and being able to relax and spend the day with Stan.  I really enjoyed it.  Stan started the day off great by making a scrumptious breakfast.  After that, we visited Granny in the hospital, and then walked and drove through downtown Baltimore.  We finished up with a great dinner from the grill, and a Baskin-Robbins sundae!

It sounds simple, but it was a very fine day.  It seems like we don’t get very many days like that anymore.

I’ve created a new photo album to document my photos from around the neighborhood and I will be updating it as I take more photos.  You can view the photos by clicking here.

In 2001 Stan and I went to the Kentucky Derby for the first time.  It was a wonderful experience I have written about many times.  The Kentucky Derby was also when I had my very first mint julep.  I was an immediate fan.  They’re like drinking candy.  I only had two on that day back in 2001, but it was MORE than enough to make me want to take a nap.

I didn’t realize at the time how long it was going to be before I had that taste again.  I didn’t realize that mint juleps are like so many southern foods - sure you can have the recipe, but it’s not enough.  You have to have the “touch” to really make it right.

I had a mint julep at our wedding reception.  It was okay.  I had two mint juleps in Charleston and they were good, but not Kentucky Derby good.  On two occasions, Stan has attempted to make mint juleps, and although the efforts were valiant, they just weren’t it.  It is frustrating to be searching for this thing you like, and can’t find - at least not the way you imagine it should be.

I came across two new pieces of information this year about the mint julep.  Firstly, I discovered  that Woodford Reserve has been the official bourbon of the Kentucky Derby for the past ten years.  So clearly, that’s what I had back in 2001.  Secondly, thanks to Martha Stewart, I found out that the mint used in the julep is “Kentucky Colonel”.  Very useful tidbits.  Can you guess what kind of mint I’m growing this year?

It all came together last Sunday.  We went to the liquor store for some wine to go with dinner.  While browsing through the store, we looked at the Woodford Reserve and for some unfathomable reason, Stan said we could get a bottle!  I was very surprised and glad!  I couldn’t wait to get home and attempt to make a mint julep.  I was determined to make it myself.  I had tried everyone else’s and I wanted to see what I could do.  I snipped off some of our mint plant and got started.  Stan was making dinner at the same time.  The entire time I was mixing, stirring, and mashing he was insisting that I was screwing the entire thing up and was going to waste the bourbon.  I didn’t even refer to a recipe, I was just going on gut instinct.

When I took my first sip, I was surprised and thrilled at how good it was.  As I continuted to drink it, I was so happy that it was good down to the last drop.  Finally, contentment with the mint julep!  Was it as good as the mint julep at the Kentucky Derby?  Well, no.  But I think if I keep working on it, I might get there.  Right now, I have no idea if I can repeat what I created.  I will be keeping my fingers crossed until my next opportunity.  I do have my own method of making a julep which flies in the face of most of the published recipes, but hey, it works for me.  Yum!

The main key component of the mint julep is the bourbon, even though it is the finish.  The “Kentucky Colonel” mint is important too.  The sugar and the water are the foundation.

Not the seven year itch.  I’m talking about our wedding anniversary that took place at the end of June.  We didn’t have a blow-out celebration, but we did take a very enjoyable day trip over to Delaware.  We spent the day at the beach and took in some sites and scenes.  The most interesting part of my day was the little hermit crab that we found on the beach which is posted below in “Seashell Surprise”.  I was totally intrigued by the little creature and enjoyed trying to coax him from the shell so I could take some photos.  I think he selected a beautiful home.

We went out to Cape Henlopen State Park and looked around a bit.  It is a beautiful area and I would love to go back when I could spend more time.  I took some nice photos while we were there.  Also in the area is a ferry that you can take over to Cape May, NJ.  I’m sure that would be a great day trip as well.

At the end of the day, we had dinner at a local place called Agave Restaurant and Tequila Bar.  They offer a very interesting menu and everything we had was quite tasty.  Even though the dining area is quite small, I didn’t feel crowded and it wasn’t overly loud.  The sangria was interesting.  The dessert we had was a great idea, but I think it still needs some work, and definitely some ice cream!  Agave just opened in March and already has a following so I am sure things will get even better.  Our waitress was problematic, as in forgetful and sometimes rude.  I’m sure she will improve with age and experience.

For this anniversary post, I’m using our engagement photo.  A lot has happened since that photo was taken.  We’ve enjoyed some wonderful travels and experiences together.  We’ve helped and supported each other with business problems.  We’ve worked together on personal issues.  We’ve worked hard at self-improvement and understanding to make our relationship the best it can be.  And it’s all been worth it.  And there’s still more work ahead of us.  Everyone knows that a good relationship takes effort, and I know that we are capable.  It’s more difficult during tough times, but I know we will get through it and be even better for our trials and tribulations.

Stan is a very special person, and I am the lucky woman who gets to know just how special he is.

Click here to view the photos from our trip to Delaware.

Seashell Surprise

Big Brown continues his journey through the mystery and drama of his Belmont performance.  Since my last post on this topic, I read about the starter of the race at Belmont actually being on the track when the gates opened.  It is said that this spooked Big Brown.  Having seen the photos, I believe it.

Now we have the drama of the shoe.  Photos and slow-motion video seem to show that at the start of the race, Guadalcanal stepped on BB’s right hind shoe and pulled it loose.  The shoe was twisted and BB went 1.5 miles around the track that way.  All I know for sure is that it was a helluva bad day for Big Brown: 

1. High temperature and humidity
2. Spooked out of the starting gate.
3. Stepped on and shoe pulled loose by Guadalcanal
4. Manhandled and jerked around by Kent D.
5. Deep footing on the track
6. And who knows what else.

There is a great article about this latest shoe saga at Bloodhorse.  Click here to read it.  The photo in this post is by Mike Corrado and there is an entire slideshow in the Bloodhorse article with photos of the mangled shoe.  Click here to go directly to the slideshow.

Now, to bastardize Benjamin Franklin’s writings:

For the want of Guadalcanal, the nail was lost;

For the want of the shoe, the race was lost;

For the want of the Triple Crown, Big Brown lost;

being pulled up and overtaken by the field;

all for want of care of a horse shoe nail.

The actual saying went like this:

For want of a Nail the Shoe was lost; for want of a Shoe the Horse was lost; and for want of a Horse the Rider was lost; being overtaken and slain by the Enemy, all for want of Care about a Horse-shoe Nail.  ~Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack, June 1758

This past weekend Stan and I ventured out to historic Londontown, which is one of the colonial “lost cities”.  Londontown is on the South River and was founded in 1683 as a port city that provided ferry service across the river, and a departure point for the tobacco trade.  It was a thriving tobacco port that rivaled both Annapolis and Williamsburg.  It was considered for the capital of the state.  It was also home to the Anne Arundel County Courthouse during the period 1684-1695.

However, in 1747 the Maryland Assembly passed legislation that limited tobacco export to only those ports selected to have an inspection station.  Londontown was not chosen.  This led to the rapid decline of the town, and in the early 19th century, only a handful of houses and the ferry were still functional.  Londontown is part of the “Lost Towns Project” which aims to unearth lost colonial towns through archeological digs with the help of both professionals and amateurs.

I was looking forward to visiting Londontown mostly because of the reviews I had read about the gardens.  The gardens were began in the 1960’s and have been contributed to by many individuals and groups.  The gardens encompass about eight acres with a noteworthy variety of plants and trees.  It was a beautiful day for a walk through the gardens, although it was rather humid.  Many of the plants and trees were marked, but many were not which was a bit disappointing.  However, the gardens are large and I’m sure it is exhaustive to keep everything marked.  The gardens are mostly cared for by volunteers.

After our walk through the gardens we investigated some of the historic buildings which was interesting.  I was especially taken with the “kitchen garden”.  It was a medium sized, fenced in garden that included a variety of herbs and vegetables.  It was very pretty and it smelled great!  It’s really made me want one for myself.  Right now, the best I can do is a small herb bed, but I’ll keep the “kitchen garden” on my list for the future.

All in all, it was a fun time and I enjoyed taking photos of the flowers and the grounds.  They have a huge selection of peonies, including tree peonies, but we missed their bloom time.  I’m sure that every visit to the gardens would be unique depending on the season you went.  I would love to go back in early spring.  We did not tour the Brown House, but they do offer a one hour guided tour of the home.

If you would like to learn more about Londontown, click here.  If you would like to view my photo gallery of the gardens, then click here. 

An experience it certainly was.  We were prepared to see history in the making.  And while that certainly did happen, it wasn’t the history we were expecting.  We were expecting to see an awesome race with a Triple Crown winner at the finish.  What we got, was the worst finish in Belmont history by a Triple Crown contender.  It was rather shocking.  When things went terribly wrong at the final turn, the crowd became quiet.  Everyone was confused about what was happening with Big Brown and Kent D.  Big Brown was probably confused as well.  Big Brown did not even cross the finish line in “racing mode”.  He crossed the finish line still fighting with Kent D., as it appeared he had done throughout the race.  The pair did not seem to be able to get along or communicate on the all important first Saturday in June.  It’s a shame.  There has been and will be tremendous analysis, commentary and critiquing of the race.  There will be excuses.  I have read many articles that dismiss the horse.  People are so fickle.  I do not blame the horse.  I don’t know who is to blame, if anyone.  It may have been the “perfect storm” kind of day that caused the ride to go the way it did.  It was EXTREMELY hot and humid with barely any air movement.  Miserable really.  I know I was quite cranky myself, not the least reason being that I was doing nothing more than sitting in my seat and sweating rivers.  Anyway, some of the possible reasons for Big Brown’s performance that are being bandied about include the heat, deep track footing, steroid withdrawal, the quarter crack, lack of training due to quarter crack, fighting with Kent D., grumpiness.  I think it’s quite likely that it may have been a combination of many of these.  Or maybe something entirely different.  In any case, I have watched countless videos of the race, photos from the race, and read just about every analysis I can find.  Simply put, I feel that Big Brown was in a mad mood before ever getting to the saddling paddock.  I think that Kent D. was nervous.  I think that the horse needed to be ridden with some tact and quietness.  Instead, Kent D. panicked or choked and manhandled Big Brown.  And the fight was on.  All the way around the track until the final turn, when Big Brown had the final word, which appeared to be “FU”.  I don’t believe Big Brown ran out of gas.  I believe he simply refused to perform.  It was a bad day to have a bad day.

Big Brown was the only reason I went to the Belmont.  I believe he is a great horse and it will be interesting to see if his owners give him a chance to really show us what more he can do.  I have faith in him.  Will I ever return to Belmont?  I think not.  My first racing experience was the Kentucky Derby in 2001.  It is an UNPARALLELED event, without question.  There is nothing else like it.  I would go back at the drop of a hat, so to speak.  Also in 2001, I went to the Preakness.  I absolutely hated it.  It was a filthy, filthy place with very rude people working there.  Gah!  The Belmont started out fairly well, but went downhill quickly. 

The gates opened at 8:30am and about 3 hours later the people whom one would think were responsible for maintaining the facility seemed to disappear. We arrived just before 11am and the trash bins were overflowing. The floors were wet for some reason, I guess they were hosed down in the very early morning. I guess there is an unspoken rule that attendees are welcome to throw their trash, tickets, food, beer, etc on the floor. It was really interesting because no one went around and picked any of it up. At about 2pm is when the bathroom dramas began. I got in a long line for the women’s restroom. Soon after, a female track worker came by and told us that they were closing the restrooms. Many of the ladies walked off, but apparently the women already in the restroom absolutely rebelled. They told the track woman that she was NOT closing the restroom, and they were NOT leaving. All of the stalls were overflowing. No toilets were flushable. They were out of toilet paper and women were using paper towels instead. Quite, quite disgusting.

Later, Stan went to the restroom and found the doors were locked and chained. Some of the men therefore were urinating directly on the doors. I’m not kidding. Stan found another restroom that was open, and he said there were more women in there than men.  So we were left to sit in the sweltering heat, unable to drink much, because there were no decent restroom facilities to use.

I have other interesting stories of the Belmont, but I guess I have gone on long enough about it.  We also visited the Statue of Liberty while we were in New York and drove through the town of Amityville.  I will blog about those adventures later.

In the meantime, you can visit my photo gallery of the trip by clicking here.  In the photo used for this post, you can see 8 of the 9 horses in the Belmont.  Big Brown is too far behind to make it into the photo.  There’s a photo of Big Brown and Da’Tara together in the pre-race parade.  There’s a photo of Da’Tara leading the pack.  There’s a photo of Big Brown finally coming past, still fighting with Kent D.

Side Notes

During the pre-race parade, Kent D. flashed a “thumbs up” to the crowd.

When Da’Tara raced against Big Brown in the Florida Derby, he finished 23 1/2 lengths behind him.

Our seats were at the 16th pole on the 2nd level.

Big Brown is back at Aqueduct as of Monday.

Here are a couple of very interesting articles about the race:

Unanswered Questions - Sports Illustrated

Opinions of the Trainers - Fox Sports

And finally, here’s a link to some GREAT photos from the Belmont:  click here.

This is the story of our robins.  A month or so ago, I came home from work late.  It was already dark, and I seem to remember it was a little chilly.  Anyway, Stan and I were talking in the family room and we heard some loud noises.  We quit talking and listened.  We definitely weren’t imagining it.  We resumed talking, but the noise resumed, even louder.  It wasn’t quiet like a mouse.  It sounded like a dog or cat was out on the deck fighting with something.  So I go out on the deck and look around.  Nothing.  I went back inside and ignored the noise and eventually forgot about it.  A few days later I was outside gardening when I looked up and saw a nest underneath our deck.  So that was it!  The source of the mystery noise was a bird on a nest building mission!  I didn’t realized that birds were even awake at night, much less building a nest.

I was very curious about the bird that built the nest.  I went up on the deck and peeked through the slats of the flooring.  Inside the nest were four beautiful robin eggs!  I was delighted to have nesting robins in the yard!  Of course, I was dying to get a photo of the eggs in the nest.  At one point I dragged out the big ladder and climbed to the tippy top with my camera.  I was quite disappointed.  The robin had built the nest on the deck support platform, in the corner, in such a way that it was impossible to get a view inside the nest.  I had the camera all the way against the flooring, and still couldn’t get the shot.  The only way I could watch the eggs was to peek through the flooring.

We missed the hatchlings coming out of the eggs.  Apparently, this happened while we were in Florida.  When I next peeked in the nest, there were four teeny babies.  We watched them get older and take food from their mother.  Then, just last Friday there were three hatchlings in the nest.  Stan and I were out in the garden when one of the hatchlings jumped (or was pushed) out of the nest!  It fell practically right in front of Stan.  It then hopped through the yard until it reached the fence around the pond where it stopped to rest.  I took a quick photo and it scampered through the fence into the brush around the pond.  Later that day, I saw it learning to fly from branch to branch of a tree.  It would make little semi-circles and return to the tree.  The last two hatchlings left the nest unseen by us.  I’m sorry I missed their departure.

It was a great pleasure having the robins around and I miss the fun and excitement of watching them.  I hope they will visit us again this season and next year.  I was unable to get a decent photo of the nest, so the photo in this post is a stock image.  However, the photo of the hatchling is ours!  It was taken while the baby robin rested in the grass after hopping through our yard.

I’ve learned a lot about robins through this experience.  I found this website especially useful and educational.

Ahhhhh.  Warm sun, blue skies, soft sand, and beautiful water.  That’s right, we’ve been in Florida!  What a wonderful reason for not blogging!  Through a cosmic alignment of the planets (or something) Stan was off work on two weekdays, and I actually had off for an entire weekend.  It really was a small miracle.  We put those four days together and made a mad dash for Florida.

We bought our airline tickets at the last minute, which I have never done before.  I hope I never have to do it again.  The airlines have some magical time that is obviously not shared with customers as to when they jack up the prices exorbitantly for last minute losers customers.  Those were the prices we had to pay if we wanted to go.  I was beside myself about it because the price was DOUBLE what it had been previously.  I was prepared not to go over this.  Stan thought it was ridiculous to cancel an entire trip over a few hundred dollars.  I don’t think it was so much the few hundred dollars that bothered me as much as the feeling of being RIPPED OFF.  And I still feel that way.  However, once we checked in at our hotel, changed clothes, and found a nice spot at the pool I was starting to get over it.  By the time I had bobbed around in the pool for awhile and Stan brought me a yummy drink from the pool bar, I had pretty much forgotten about it.

Although our trip was short, our days were full and we had a lot of fun.  We went to Honeymoon Beach twice and St. Pete Beach once.  On the last day, we tried Sand Key beach but it was a loser.  There were TONS of people there.  The wind was blowing like a banshee that day, and it was miserable on the beach.  Even with my sunglasses on, I couldn’t keep my eyes open all the way.  We spent some time at the pool instead but it was very crowded so I didn’t get much out of that.  We played a round of putt-putt on that last day and it was quite fun.  Stan beat me this time, but it was close!

We found some great places to eat on this trip, my favorite being Frida’s Cafe.  I love this place.  We had breakfast there every day.  You can click here to visit their website, but it really doesn’t do the place justice.  They ship nationwide so maybe one day when Stan and I are dreaming of the Swedish cookies, the whiskey cake, the coconut cake, the pecan cookies, or the chocolate mousse mouse, we’ll give them a call and have something delivered!  You should too.

We ate twice at the Venue Club which offers two restaurant options.  We first ate at Viaggio which offers a tapas style menu.  Since we didn’t have a reservation we ate at the bar, something I normally detest, but for some reason it was fine at Viaggio.  The staff were committed to providing a pleasant dining experience, even at the bar.  We had a great view of the live music and it was fun.  We started with a pitcher of wonderful sangria created by the bartenders for a custom recipe.  It was very, very good.  Everything we ordered was superb.  My favorites were the Wild Mushroom Bisque and the Black and Blue Filet Mignon.  Stan enjoyed a rack of lamb entree.  Thumbs up to Chef Robert Uzzillia!  On our last night we ate at Takara, the sushi bar at The Venue.  It was pretty good, but not phenomenal.  I’ve had better sushi/sashimi in lots of other places.

In Summary::

The BEST - Spending time with Stan, St. Pete Beach, Sheraton pool, Viaggio, Frida’s Cafe, the weather.

The WORST - Airline ticket price, not getting to go to Caladesi Beach, not applying sunscreen properly and getting stripes on my legs, sunburn on my feet, the three adults and four children in the room above ours, the bad food and drinks at The Pub, the wind, forgetting to fill up the rental car with gas.

All in all, it was a very nice getaway and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Thanks Stan!

I took my camera with the intention of taking lots of photos, but as it turned out, I didn’t.  I mean, how many beach photos can a person take?  Oh sure, this is coming from the person who can’t seem to take enough flower photos!  Actually, that’s what happened in Florida - I took lots of flower photos.  You can see for yourself - click here to view the Florida photo gallery.