Fun and Games Dept

It’s been a few years since we’ve been in this neck of the woods, but when we would visit on a regular basis during the holiday season, we had a tradition of heading over to Cherry Hill Mall in Cherry Hill, N.J. They have an enjoyable eatery in the middle of the mall called “The Bistro”. We went there today while doing some Christmas browsing. The mall wasn’t very busy, but we had a nice lunch together.

I love how my husband is wearing a scarf with his t-shirt. He’s a little bit desert southwest and a little bit northeast on this trip.

We are en route from Tucson to O’Hare for our trip back east. We are in row 23 on this A320. The airplane is about 60% full and it’s not as awful as I thought it would be.

We celebrated 11 years of legal marriage this evening. I was happy to finish my jury duty this afternoon and maintain our plans for the evening.

We decided to try our hands at a local casino a little bit, losing a lot but then gaining a bit to just lose a little. I still don�t like losing at the casino but at least we were able to keep it reasonable. We went to the casino because 11 years ago tonight, we were legally married at the casino near our home at the time. Marriage is a gamble, we�d snicker, so a casino seemed like a natural choice.

Afterwards we went to a locally owned steakhouse known for their prime rib. I don�t eat as much meat as I used to and every once in a while I get in the mood for a steak, so we went to El Corral. The service excellent, we had a couple of enjoyable cocktails, and the food was very good. I definitely look forward to going back for another visit.

We decided to splurge on dessert and I casually mentioned to the server we were celebrating our legal anniversary when I asked her to take our photo. Because of our celebration she gave us the desserts for free and that was very nice. The manager then came over and congratulated us on our legal anniversary.

It was a very nice evening.

We had fun last night.

I�ve gotten in the habit of sitting on our roof for about 10-15 minutes before heading to bed. The desert winds are amazing at this time of year. Still kicking up to nearly 20 MPH, the breeze is warm and makes a lovely sound as it passes through the landscape. I find it comforting. After thunderstorms I am most impressed by wind when it comes to Mother Nature�s activities.

On my walk earlier this evening I saw eight dots moving across the sky in different directions. Undoubtedly satellites, I usually see only one or two at a time. Seeing eight ear unusual to me. Inspiring, but unusual.

I love these inexpensive online eyeglasses places, like Zenni Optical. I�m trying a new look inexpensively.

I�m sitting on our roof looking at the incredibly clear night sky. The stars are quite beautiful. I�m using an old app on my iPad called �Star Walk 2�, trying to figure out what I�m looking at on this celestial evening. A couple of coyotes are making some noise in the distance.

Always look up.

It�s the kind of night I love. A gentle, warm wind. Temperatures well above 80�F. No moon. Lots of stars nearby, but lighting all around on the horizon.

I�m already looking forward to my next storm chasing week in 2023. Mother Nature never fails to impress me.

We had dinner with Matt and Homer tonight. We went to a casual Mexican place right around the corner from Homer’s house. It was a beautiful night so we walked to the restaurant. We were just finishing up our dinner when a thunderstorm moved in. We talked as the thunder boomed and the rain came down. It was raining pretty hard for quite a while. Homer and I decided to walk back to his house in the rain so I could get the car and pick up Earl and Matt and get them home in a less wet manner.

We had a very nice time this evening. It’s always fun getting together with the two of them.