La Quinta, California: Considering Kris and Steve visited us during a pandemic, we were still able to do a few fun things. We went to the zoo, hiked to an oasis, golfed, and dined outside at two lunch spots. This was an extraordinary amount of "beyond the country club walls" activity for me. The swimming pool was a very popular retreat and the weather really cooperated - high 80s-low 90s all week.
Here are a few photos (taken by Kris) of our round of golf Thursday:
The PGA were not begging any of us to join the tour.
On their last night with us, we had a little desert-style Shabbat. The fancy grill that came with this house has a rotisserie attachment. Steve had experience with such devices (it has an infrared back burner), so he set us up! I prepped a 4.6 pound chicken, Steve skewered the thing and we were in business. Earlier in the day, I had boiled small gold potatoes until they were really soft, then dressed them in a little olive oil, garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper. When the chicken was nearly finished, I smashed the potatoes with the palm of my hand, and placed them in the drip pan below the chicken. YUMMY! We also had a Greek salad.
My Brother and his wife have already arrived back in Colorado... to a foot of snow! It was so wonderful to spend time together again.
After all that chicken... would you believe I am making Buffalo Chicken Wings for the Super Bowl? Leo is a huge Bengals (his other grandma is from Cincinnati) fan and I will make Cincinnati-style Chili (sometime next week) if the Bengals win. If you don't know about this type of chili: it is a meaty sauce with sweet and savory spices... served over a bed of spaghetti pasta. I know it sounds awful, but it is really good and really different. How about a flash-back to 2005? DT and I were in Cincinnati for the A-10 Basketball tournament and visited Skyline Chili for the first time. As our food arrived, a woman came out from behind the counter and placed this plastic bib around my neck!
Until my next update, I remain, your "GO BENGALS" correspondent.