Happy Birthday, D!

Il Palato and Simba

Dad was in town several times in May, and that meant that we explored a couple of new restaurants.

First up was Il Palato, which opened where my much-beloved Remy's used to be.  The interior did not undergo a total gut renovation, but it certainly got a massive face lift.  The bar portion of Remy's was always bright compliments of the enormous front windows.  The renovation brightened up both the bar and the remainder of the interior space, and brought in some simple, modern design elements.

The food is southern Italian and Mediterranean -- lots of seafood and veggies; nary a trough of pasta to be found.  If you don't like food that's a bit fussy, this place probably isn't for you.  But if you don't mind spending a little time deconstructing your food before you eat it, it's surely worth a try.

Our other new restaurant adventure was Simba.  I had never had Ugandan food before.  I didn't have a clue what Ugandan food would even consist of.  My many-years-ago trip to Africa took me south of Uganda by a country or two, and in any case, the food we had really catered to the Americans and the Brits staying at the camps, so wasn't a good reference point anyway.

Ugandan food, it turns out, uses many of the same spices as Indian food, only in smaller quantities and different combinations, with lots of Middle Eastern influence as well.  All three of us loved our dishes, and I easily could have made three meals out of the chicken curry I got (though I only made two).

A warning: do not go here if you are in a rush.  Though service is extremely warm and friendly, it is slow.  Luckily we knew that going in, so we went early and had nowhere to be afterwards.  As long as you can deal with the slo-mo meal delivery, it is 100% worth a visit.

The Friend -- Take 2

I liked The Friend a lot.  I was predisposed to, on account of the dog on the cover.  I feel like putting a dog on the cover of a book is a sure way to get into certain readers' hearts before they even open the book.  I am one of those readers.

Really, the primary relationship in the book is between the narrator and her deceased friend, but since he's dead, there isn't a whole lot of meaningful conversation going on.  Some of the few conversations in the book happen between the friend's widow and the narrator, when the former asks the latter if she will take in the Great Dane left behind.

Reluctantly, the narrator agrees, and the second relationship in the book develops.  It is through the relationship with Apollo, the Dane, that the narrator begins to untangle her complicated history with her dead friend, and also through her relationship with Apollo that the narrator herself begins to move on.

The book does take a strange, and non-dog-related turn, near the end.  I could have completely done without that part.  I didn't feel like it added much to the story, and what it did add seems like it could have been done differently.  But other than that, quite enjoyable.

What I'm Reading Now -- American Son

There was a period in my education when my interest in history was in the middle to late sections of the 20th century.  Among my areas of interest was the American Camelot, the Kennedy clan.  I bought far more books than I had time to read before my interest waned, but I kept many of them.

For reasons unknown, the one that piqued my interest recently was American Son.  So here I go down that path again!

Goals 2019 -- June Edition

After last month, there are so many more tech-type goals that I feel like we could have picked for this month.  It was great to get some of that stuff done, and I feel like we were on a roll of success, which I am loathe to stop.

However, it is June.  In StL, there may still be a few nice days before the oppressive heat and humidity set in.  In Florida, it's too late for that, but they do summer on a while different scale there, so June still probably seems comparatively cool.

So, in an effort to get away from our computers for the month, but in light of the fact that K has some traveling to accomplish as well, this month, we will each explore five new places or things.

This isn't exactly well-defined; the place might be a new city, a new bike trail, or a new experience (spelunking, anyone?).  But we will explore those places or things, and report back at the end of the month!

Goals 2019 -- May Recap

I am pleased to report that I rocked my goal this month.  I have not wiped and gotten rid of my old phone yet, but technically that wasn't on my list!

Update from K to follow....

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

What I'm Reading Now -- The Friend

I still haven't officially finished the paper version of Truman, despite finishing the audiobook.  Nevertheless, I have started The Friend, which is my next postal book club book courtesy of E.

Putting a dog on the cover of a book is an easy way to get my attention.  The bright color-blocking also helps.  As the saying goes, though, you should not judge a book by its cover.  I make a slight exception to that rule when the cover also bears a "National Book Award Winner" seal.  I don't always agree with the judging panel, but even if I don't particularly like the book, I can usually at least why it was selected, so something worthwhile comes out of the read.

Goals 2019 -- May Edition Update

From K:

In the vein of picking manageable goals, when M asked what we should work on this month, I picked one of my typical summer projects: gaining control of my digital life. To that end, this month I will try to clean out my email inboxes (and there are many) and delete any email that’s hanging around in any hidden folders. Additionally, I want to monitor my incoming junk mail and unsubscribe to any mailing lists I have found myself on that are giving me some version of carpal tunnel syndrome from swiping to delete.

This is usually a summer goal because I actually have time to get myself organized and enough faith to believe that I might actually be able to maintain such organization when the going gets rough. For me, May is the month where all things seem possible, even maybe eliminating junk mail. It really is a magical time of year.

Goals 2019 -- May Edition

In May, we're dealing with our electronics.

My goals are as follows:
- Delete at least 200 old emails.  Why this number, you might ask?  No idea.  I have no idea whether it's realistic or not.  But it seems better to have something quantifiable.
- Do at least two of the things on my long to-do list.  I have a computer-related to-do list.  I won't bore you with what's on it, but there are probably a dozen tasks to be done.  I will do three of them.
- Back up my phone and switch over to a new one.  This is a biggie.  My phone is on it's last leg.  Toe.  Toenail.  Barely hangin' on.  Time to upgrade.

K may have a more detailed list later, but here's what I've been apprised of so far:
- Unsubscribe from a million lists.
- Clean out email inboxes.
- Streamline app use.
- At least consider the possibility of moving fully to an online calendar.

So, as the sun shines and hopefully the rain stops, we'll be sitting in front of our computers like good Americans, clickety-clacking away on our keyboards!