March Madness in Nebraska

My fabulous mother was born on the first day of March, so it is always a very special day!

Cheers to Mom on her 88th birthday.

My wonderful sister, Darlene, and brother-in-law, Tom, had Mom join them for her birthday week in their winter home in Thousand Palms, CA.

I'm so thankful for a beautiful, healthy and sweet mother.

My dear friend, Lorraine, retired from her teaching career in December.

March 2 was a cold and snowy evening, but Lorraine (center) was surrounded by the warmth of many friends.

I left Rusty on his own and traveled to Philadelphia to spend a little time with the Caviezels.

Ruby and I made Princess Crowns from pipe cleaners.

We played a modified version of WAR with cards Ace-4.

Ruby knows quite a bit about numbers and letters.  She can add and subtract at a basic level and she can sound out many words.  How amazing!

We did a reading of Peter and the Wolf.  That was followed by listening to a soundtrack of same where we had to use our listening and our imagination to tell the story.

We attended a Philadelphia Orchestra children's concert.  Ruby started strong, but fell asleep in the second half.

Finger nail painting has become a ritual for Ruby and me.

Mommy and Ruby reading at Barnes and Noble.

Ruby warms up for dance class.

A little time for contemplation...

Felicia lit the candles, Ruby set the table, and we all prayed before dinner.  ( The traditional ending to the meal prayer is not "Amen," but "Cheers!")

Felicia and I enjoyed the brisk, almost  spring air while walking along the Schuylkill River Park.

Date night is usually on Sunday night, but this week it happened on Wednesday.  Felicia and Sam always find a very special place to celebrate.  This night we had reservations at Talula's Garden on Washington Square.

First stop was at Talula's bar.  I had a yummy drink called The Tree Hugger: bourbon, maple syrup, walnut flavoring and a cherry.

Then we progressed to Talula's Garden with Sean McPaul Executive Chef,where we enjoyed a six course meal with complimentary wines.

The warm buttermilk-dill biscuit was an inviting starter.  It was followed by the artichoke toasts with fresh sweet crab and Lemon-tarragon aioli.

The third course was the Goat Cheese Cavatelli with local mushrooms, watercress, and pine nuts, accompanied by Fish House Sauvignon Blanc.

Felicia listens to our server describe the Breadcrumb-Baked Cod, accompanied by salty sea beans, buttery bone marrow, and sweet pea sauce.  Lechthaler Pinot Noir 2011.

The Northern Exposure cheese plate was beyond description and pared nicely with Doc's Craft Hard Apple Cider.

The last course was 'Bananas Foster' Crepes with cinnamon ice cream and rum sauce.  A few sips of decaf coffee and I was over the moon!!

One would think this fabulous date night could not be topped, but the following evening was even better.  Sam got box seat tickets for us at the Philadelphia Orchestra Concert!

The Kimmel Center Verizon Hall is a beautiful place to experience superb, live music.

The concert began with the 1806 Beethoven Violin Concerto.  

The Violin Concerto was both gorgeous and accessible.  The soloist was Nikolaj Znaider who played the "Kreisler" Guarneri del Gesu (1741) violin.  Some of the notes were so sweet they sounded like crystal!

Stephane Deneve was the conductor for the evening.  

I have to confess my plebeian ways allowed me to fully appreciate the wild antics of Stephane Deneve's hair during the concert.  (Felicia's words were, "His hair won't disappoint."  Indeed, it did not!)

After the break we heard the 1953 Shostakovich Symphony No. 10.  It was a huge piece that seemed to fully engage every instrument of the orchestra.  I thought Sam did an outstanding job!

I titled this blog March Madness and have not yet talked about basketball.  Go Big Red has been synonymous with football for many, many years.  Our basketball record has traditionally been very poor.  Not so this year!

Husker women claimed their first Big Ten Conference tournament championship, beating the Iowa Hawkeyes 72-65.

After NE men beat Wisconsin 77-68 yesterday, Tim Miles was named Big Ten Conference Coach of the year.

Players and fans alike are pretty stoked about this win!

Rusty continued to work on the dining room table and also our future canoe while I was in Philly.  When I returned home, he requested my help in drilling the holes on the stem molds.

Di as Rosie the Riveter

Today, March 10, was a beautiful day to be alive.  We had mostly sunny skies with a high in the 70s and winds in the single digits.  (Tomorrow we will return to below freezing with 40 mph winds.)  Walkers, joggers, and bikers were all outside enjoying our first hint of spring.  I had a lovely luncheon with good friends, followed by a 12 mile bike ride into town.