Back to Reality

Friend Candy was here for thirteen days; now it's back to reality. At least I have some things worth showing you on a blog post.

We first went to Branson to walk The Landing and board the dinner train. We stopped in at Paula Deen's kitchen store, which is a fun experience. I was going to see if you could guess the identity of this person, but now I've given it away.

And here she is, with her lovely family. Mike (Paula's husband) is absent because he was taking the photo.

The store is already decked out for Christmas.
 

Candy with her new friend. I don't usually post photos of people, but she gave me permission.

Paula has just finished her final cookbook, and she'll be at the store for book signing on October 28, barring unforeseen developments.

It was a lovely day at The Landing; blue skies, not too warm, and not too crowded.

And I'll be planting Lantana next year.

I've told you that everything changes, and never for the better. The Branson Train is no exception. Brother Bill and I went on the dinner ride some time ago, and the food was perfect. When we boarded, the crudités were waiting; the waitress came right away for our drink orders, and life was good. 

This time the water and iced tea were poured, with melting ice, when we boarded the train. No crudités. The Caesar salads were also waiting at our places, starting to wilt, and growing warmer by the minute as the sun was beating in through the window on our side of the train.

The chicken was very good, the potatoes overcooked, and the vegetables cooked to the point of no nutritional value whatsoever. This is Candy's plate - my veggies were totally limp. The dessert was a ho-hum two-layer cake - one layer chocolate, the other vanilla. The rolls were excellent. The truck parked by the tracks said "Golden Catering," so I assume it's still Golden Corral supplying the train, and you know about their wonderful rolls. They also furnished the food the last time I went on the train, but much better and a total surprise when I asked who catered.

The cute conductor came by and punched our tickets, just like the old days. He, too, gave me permission to post his photo so you could see his cute hat.

His little pin is from a program promoting railroad crossing safety.

We were "entertained" by an accordian player, but I neglected to get his permission to post his photo.

Our next excursion was to Indigo Sky Casino with a stop at Happy House for lunch.

I love Happy House in Joplin (not associated with the one in Monett), because I love fried foods and they have a wide variety, along with great Hot and Sour Soup, and lots of meat-veggie dishes plus salad, fruits, sushi, and desserts.

I lost part of my winnings from last time. I had $200 left, which was exactly the cost of my new windshield since I got a flung-up rock on the highway on the way to the casino. Now my casino stash is zero, and I think the gambling gods are telling me to stay home.

We had lunch at Cafe B-29 when Candy and Jim visited a year ago. We lost Jim in April this year, but Candy wanted to revisit this favorite place of Jim's.

I had the French Dip. 

And Candy had the Reuben.

This was on the wall beside our booth.

More photos from prior blogs - Click Here.

Friend Mim joined us for a trip to Crystal Bridges. We took the scenic route and stopped in Marionville at El Maya - yum!

I had my favorite - carnitas.

Candy had a taco salad and Mim had fajitas.

We skipped the special exhibit (Annie Liebovitz photos), and the man on the bench and the bust of a man are out on loan. 

My favorite painting was there.

Some old favorites.

 

How does one sculpt glass?

Lots of new construction.

The construction will be a large addition, as shown with the scale model.

Such an interesting building.

We had the restaurant all to ourselves, so we stopped for coffee and scones. That's the restaurant on the right in the above photo.

Our final excursion was to Sight and Sound Theater in Branson to see Queen Esther. This was my third time, and I still saw things I'd missed before, and I still want a crown. If you've missed it, I urge you to find time to go.

We stopped at El Salvatore's on the way home for a disappointing lunch. Don't order the Chicken Marsala. Great Caesar Salad, however, and the heavenly homemade bread, of course.

Now it's time to play catch-up. I got my new windshield, returned my book to the library, bought a David Baldacci paperback from the used book cart (50 cents) though I said I'd not buy any more books, dropped a couple of things at Fedex, called Rick to come check why my new stainless steel kitchen sink goes "Wha-ump!" when I turn the water on (he came back today and it's the rinsing hose building up pressure somehow - fixed only by returning the faucet and hose for a new set, but I'd pay for changing them, so I decided to just ignore the Wha-ump!), in the middle of changing over to streaming so I can eliminate my costly cable, ordered a sim card for my smart phone as it's compatible with Mint Mobile and only $15 a month for 5GB of data.

Now to start placing TV's. I have a new smart Samsung for the family room, but the hookups are somewhere back of all this. The VHS/DVD player will be easy, but I don't know where the electrical outlet resides. I'm guessing it's behind the second shelf from the bottom, based on where it's located in the cabinet to the right. 

My house is starting to show signs of autumn, thanks to Friend Katie for my fall card,

my first Halloween card (from Brother Bill),

a darling leaf bowl from my Crafty Friend Ellie,

and a toilet tissue pumpkin, also from Ellie.

I'm in the middle of researching TV channels, and deciding which TV goes where (even considering putting one of the extras in my bedroom, though I've never had one there), and time to work on weeds again.

I'll be back as soon as I have something worthwhile to share.

HAPPY FALL, Y'ALL

THANK YOU FOR SHARING MY LIFE