Mike and Joanne - Lake Tapps/Bonney Lake/Sumner

We are having some folks from Lake Tapps Community Church over for dinner. Here is the playlist:

Water and Tulsi Tea to drink:

Salads, on large plates three salads:

Smoked Salmon Salad on a thin Corn Bread
Chicken Salad on a Brown Rice and Quinoa Patty
Apple Salad right on the plate
NOTE: immediately after loading the salads put the cobbler in the oven at 300.

Mains, switching to small plates:

Elk, Ribeye cut and Potato Medallions
NOTE: after serving the Elk, broil the Zucchini
Chicken in Ancho Marinade, Fresh Corn, Broiled Zucchini w Pesto and Parmesan Cheese

Desserts, also on small plates:

Apple/Cherry Cobbler with Almond Flour Crust
Chocolate Crepes

Denver to Seattle

I think the conference in Denver went well. We had a really civilized flight out from a time perspective. The hotel let us stay till noon. We holed up in the United Lounge till it was time to board, but United 1214 ran late. Not United's fault, dicey weather conditions in Denver. Couple hours in the lounge, couple hours at the gate and a couple hours on the tarmac, but we did not have a connecting flight, so I was chilled.

I watched the latest Die Hard movie on the airplane. It was OK, not great, but it helped pass the time. I also read the weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal. We landed at ten something and were home about midnight. One of the elder's of Lake Tapps Community church did the preaching today and he had clearly prepared, but towards the end of the sermon I was afraid I would fall asleep.

Watched a bit of a risqué movie tonight with Kathy, The Sessions with Helen Hunt. Kathy bought it for me. As a fellow polio, it was really touching. It also reminded me of how God has richly blessed me, I may be a polio and to be sure, there are effects, but I can still walk without assistive devices and do not have to live in an iron lung.

Udi's Denver

Udi's gets it. Kathy is living gluten free and it is working well for her. She got to eat her first Cuban sandwich ( I had the same thing with gluten). She had the sweet potato fries, I had the regular fries. Enjoyable fast food.

Bubba Gump Shrimp Company

This is across the street from the hotel and I was beat. I like the Hyatt restaurant, but they keep it so cold and there was a line to get in, so we went to Bubba's. They were also full, but there was room at the bar. That worked. Paul the barkeep was friendly and attentive and kept our water glasses full which is a plus with spicy food.

Kathy just wanted a blast of protein so she ordered the Net Catch, which is peel and eat shrimp in a bucket. I had Lt. Dan's Drunken Shrimp which is blackened shrimp and sausage arranged around a pile of mashed potatoes. It is at my spice limit, but it was good.

I had not been to a Bubba's since my trip to Maui, so that was fun. I would go back. Price before gratuity was 32.18.

Seattle to Denver

We got to SEATAC early. Scored TSA Pre, so security was really easy and holed up in the lounge. Didn't really want to do a lot of email, so read newspapers and magazines. Could not ignore the CNN screen, Zimmerman, Zimmerman, Zimmerman.

United 1607 was a tad late, but it was a direct flight so we were chilled. Bit bumpy, but no complaints. They were serving a "snack". At this point in my life I could live for two days on that amount of food. The Purser asked for my food preference and I said whatever is left, airplane food is exactly that. The soup was good, ate half of it, did not even attempt the sandwich.

We landed, got our luggage, found a taxi and motored to the Hyatt Regency. It is an OK hotel in a GREAT location near the theater district. We have two double beds, the good news is you can use one as the storage/staging bed, the bad news is Kathy and I are pretty large people even with the weight we have both lost. I love cuddling with Kathy, but this is going to get extreme. We will make do.

Wasn't really hungry, but we felt we should eat something so we went to Appaloosa's Grill. This is one of my favorite spots in Denver; great live music, acceptable food, fair prices. I knew I could not eat much so I got the Mac Cheese, (amazing how many times I have made that choice lately).

Woke up this morning, blinky as all get out, it will be interesting to see how things work out this week. Kathy slept late and I am very happy for her, conference life is a huge energy burn. She is reading the weekend of WSJ while I blog. We are going out in a few minutes to get some lunch. I can't say I really want to eat, but I know I should. Plus, we will get to see an interesting place, I am sure.