Hey, It's a Squirrel... It's a Skunk... It's Pepe!

We were so excited on Christmas Day when we saw our squirrely friend, Pepe. We first saw this freak of nature back in August after a severe thunderstorm. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me when the lightening flashed and I saw the streak of the white tail.

Pepe was missing in action for a couple of months now, and we assumed the worst, considering how attractive that white tail must be to hawks and cats.

We hope Pepe sticks around for a while, but imagine he must have been on quite an adventure these past few months. I'm just glad he came close enough for a couple pictures!

(Hey, where's my nuts?)

Holiday Wrap-up

It's hard to believe it, but the holidays are almost over!

Since we took our vacation so close to Christmas, we really didn't have very much time to prepare for the holidays. This was particularly hard on Rick, who relishes in putting up all of the Christmas trimmings. We opted for a single Christmas tree (instead of putting up two) and didn't even put up our stockings this year! Yes, very Grinchy indeed.

But the tree was lovely, although we realized that our snowman decorations that filled a 7-ft tree rather nicely, looked a little sparse on our new, pre-lit 9-ft tree! Trust me... It is SO worth not having to string lights on a tree! What a time saver!

On Christmas Eve we went over to the Duda's (Loretta and Dave, Rick's parents). We'll post some pictures in our next blog and on my Picasa album once Rick re-sizes them for the web. Just like last year Rick dressed up as Santa for the kids, who seemed a bit more at ease with Santa than last year. There we lots of gifts to hand out and it was a lot of fun!

On Christmas day we went to the Lerch's (Bob and Rita, my parents) for a buffet dinner and games. Our attempt at replicating the pear martini from Las Vegas was an utter failure, but mom's iced tea is always top notch! We played 80's Trivial Pursuit, which proved to me, at least, that I should have been paying better attention to the news! Jen and I rocked the music category, though! But alas, the boys beat us in the end! Darn those sports questions!

This year our gift to each other was our new kitten, Scout, the gift that keeps giving. Well, the give that keeps us on our toes, anyways! So far she's been to the vet 3 times, but that's to be expected with a shelter kitty. Even when she's not feeling well she's just the sweetest kitten. Her highest aspiration, though, is to play with Buttercup, who either runs away or smacks her smartly on the head, every time Scout tries to play. They are warming up to each other, though, as Q (aka grandpa) watches from a safe distance.

What we'll remember best from this year's holiday extravaganza are these: a fantastic trip to Las Vegas with Jen and my parents, a new fuzzy family member, Santa Rick, and meow-ing Christmas carols around mom and dad's tree! (Be glad that we don't have any audio of this!)

We can hardly wait to see what 2008 will bring. First is our promise to post some holiday pictures, soon!

Happy new year, everyone!

New Family Member

Announcing our newest furry family member:

Scout is almost 4 months old. We adopted her from the Stark County Humane Society on Saturday. She is currently in "kitten lock-down" in our sunny library room until she gets a clean bill of health from our vet.

Buttercup and Q are very curious about their new neighbor and spend a lot of time sniffing and prowling around the closed door.

Scout is very interested in what is going on outside her little room and is looking forward to joining the Lerch-Duda clan. She is very cuddly and fond of rolling on to her back while you pet her.

We think she looks a lot like Q. If she grows into those huge ears she'll probably be huge!

Vegaspalooza (The Conclusion)

So, gentle reader, we now rejoin our reveling travelers as they order bloody mary mix from room service...

(Fade in...)

I believe we sent the boys downstairs on an errand. I can't remember what the errand was, but I'm sure it was important at the time. In the meantime we ordered some light (ha-ha!) snacks, bloody mary mix, and a bowl of limes. Being Vegas, I'm certain this was not a strange order at all.

("Yes, Mom, Dreams really do come true in Vegas!")

(We wonder where the boys are... They have been gone a long time!)
(Do we look worried?)

After at least an hour, the boys returned to Mom and Dad's room. Where have they been? Playing the slots, of course. At least Dad came up a winner. And he brought Pringles!

(Dad and Richard join the party)

After a rousing game of "Las Vegas Charades," we decided to head over to the Paris casino. Considering our impromptu room service party, I decided to pass on the Eiffel tower margarita. As tempting as frothy architecture might be, it was probably for the best! The evening ended as we watched Survivor in Mom and Dad's room. We had to watch it there since our TV only had a few channels that worked. I wonder if the TVs work at the MGM Grand hotel...

Friday revealed some major weather issues with a continuous downpour, fog, and high winds. It didn't seem like a big deal to us, but it was the most rain they had in Vegas in years. We're just lucky we weren't flying home that day. Lots of canceled flights.

Our day had a fairly tight schedule since the girls had lunch plans at the Eiffel Restaurant and the boys were going to the Star Trek Experience, with tickets to Spamalot in the evening.

Our reservations were for noon, so Jen, Mom, and I headed over to the Paris casino. Due to the high winds, the Eiffel tower rides were canceled for the day. The restaurant is located inside the Eiffel tower replica on the 11th floor. Ideally, the elevator doors open grandly at the entrance to the crisp, bustling kitchen.

In our case, though, the elevator accidentally traveled to a lower level where it opened in the maintenance area. Hmmm... Is this where they take the customers who win gift certificates? Fortunately, the hostess quickly hit the button and we traveled back to the 11th floor!

For a true foodie, catching a glimpse of the kitchen was a thrilling experience. The dining room is equally beautiful. I'm sure the panoramic view is normally extraordinary, but on this day the fog and rain detracted from the view.

We are all aware of how fond the French are of vegetarians... (ha-ha!) so I wondered how I would fare with the menu. Thankfully they offer a seasonal salad which was quite yummy with mixed greens and crispy beet chips. Mom had a chopped chicken salad and Jenny opted for the very French crepe. But the best part were the drinks! I had the "L'Amour pour Toujours" which is now my favorite drink in the whole wide world. Basically it's a pear rose martini, but I like the snooty French name better.

(Coming soon... Picture from the Eiffel Restaurant!)

Meanwhile the boys ventured off to the Star Trek Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton. The plan was to go to both attractions (Borg Invasion and Klingon Encounter) and take the behind the scenes tour. While the girls enjoyed their lovely French lunch, the boys enjoyed chicken wrap sandwiches while standing over garbage cans. We're not sure why they ate cold sandwiches over garbage cans, but they seemed to have enjoyed themselves.

(Richard decides he wants to be assimilated after all...)

(Dad feels right at home among the Trekkies, er, Trekkers!)

We regrouped in the afternoon. Richard had a lovely Star Trek afterglow. I had a lovely nap.

We took a taxi over to the Wynn hotel and casino where we planned to have dinner and see Spamalot. The Wynn is very nice with much swank. We ate at the Red 8 restaurant. We were seated in a private curtained area that looked out into the casino. We're not quite sure if the separate room was a bonus or not. I've always wondered about this... Is it better to be off by ourselves or among the other guests? In the end, it was a very nice meal (Jen's was a bit spicy) and we were able to enjoy ourselves in our little room.

(Does this restaurant serve Spam?)

(They don't have spam, but they do have sweet and sour chicken!)
(and tofu!)

(Jenny says, "I'm sad. I don't have a date.")

Since Jenny has complained about feeling like a fifth wheel, I decided to make things better by referring to her my "Sister Wife" and telling her we could share Richard. (I didn't ask Richard if this was okay....)

She didn't like that very well...

So I continue to refer to her as Sister Wife. Please feel free to do the same! Too much fun!!!!

(Mom and Dad in front of the Wynn's lanterns)

(Hey, Richard, there's a lantern coming out of your head!)

(Sister-Wife is so glad to be carrying our coats while we take pictures)

We gambled a bit to kill some time before the show, then headed over to Grail Theater. The entrance into the theater included lots of fun Monty Python decorations to get us in the mood. I just love the fact that they had a well-stocked bar and encouraged guests to bring their drinks in to the show. Much to the embarrassment of Mom, we opted for the "Grail" drinks which came in these huge plastic grails. It was very fun! I love those monster-sized drinks!

(Let's raise our Grails to Spamalot!)

If you're a fan of Monty Python and get a chance to see this musical, you need to get thee to Spamalot! Perhaps you could pick up a shrubbery on the way...

Well, the next morning we packed up our things and headed down to the Bally's breakfast buffet to cash in all of our comps. Then it was off to the airport for the trip home.

(Richard says "Beam me home, Scotty!")

(Another successful vacation...
We may not be going home big winners, but we've got each other!)

The flight home was much quicker than the flight out, but we were greeted by snowy, sleety weather, sheer winds, and an initially aborted landing. (That was a little scary!) Thankfully we all made it home safe and sound, with three large plastic grails in our carry-on luggage! (I guess these are not hot items for hijackers these days...)

The end! (Until next time!!!!)

Vegaspalooza 2007 (Part 1)

Well the trip to Vegas has come and gone, but the memories (and the pictures!) are here to cherish forever!

(Richard enjoys taking pictures from the airplane)

Our flight into Vegas took a little longer than expected, so we were all so glad to get off that plane and hit the Strip. We checked in to Bally's in the early afternoon (and then immediately considered checking out, what a dump!)

(Richard and I want to switch hotels and go to the MGM!)

We decided to stick it out and hope for cleaner bathrooms in the morning. Instead of hanging out in our rooms, we went hunting for food. First stop: The Spice Market Buffet at the newly renovated Hard Rock Casino (formerly Aladdin). Lots of yummy options from around the world. This is the one place in Las Vegas that is very vegetarian-friendly.

That evening we got our tickets for the "Price is Right Live" stage show at Bally's for the next day. Mom was not thrilled at the prospect of attending a knock-off game show, and she made it very clear that if anyone called her name she would get up and walk right out the door. She was very clear: If she hears "Rita Lerch, Come on Down" there would be hell to pay!

After some slot machine action and desperate hopes to spin the Wheel of Fortune, we called it a night. Then we promptly woke up around 4 a.m.!!!! Darn that time change!

We spent Thursday morning at the MGM looking for my lucky Wheel of Fortune slot machine, but, alas, they have changed the portraits on the walls and Gregory Peck was nowhere to be found. We settled for lunch at Il Fornaio at New York, New York.

(I needed the venti soy latte... I was up at 4 a.m.!)

On the way back to Bally's, Richard decided to try his luck on one of those big slot machines we've all been warned to avoid. After waiting an obnoxious length of time for another guy to finish his $20 (one dollar at a time), Richard put in his money and pulled the arm. Much to our surprise (and to the enjoyment of the 40+ Asian businessmen gathered nearby) Richard won $50. The big slot machines still pay out with coins, so it was a very noisy, satisfying win!

("Triple bar... Triple bar... Wooo-Hoooo!")

The big slot machine win set the tone as we made our way to our afternoon showing of the Price is Right show.

(Check out the nifty Price is Right name tags!)

Once we got into the theater they got the crowd warmed up with sample pricing games, then Randy West came out to warm us up. All the while Mom offered her diatribe on how they had better not call her name.

With detailed instructions on how to "Oooooh" and "Aaaaaaaah" properly and how to cheer for contestants, we were ready to play. Randy explained that not only would contestants be called down to play the game, he would randomly call out names from the audience to win all kinds of fabulous prizes. He asked if we were ready, and we all (well, not mom) yelled "Yes!"

Then he called mom's name.

Seriously...

The first name Randy called was "RITA LERCH!"

Oh, if only they hadn't taken away our cameras before the show...

The good news? He didn't say "Rita Lerch, Come on Down!"

The bad news? Mom was halfway down to the stage when he said that mom won a fabulous prize and didn't need to come down after all.

More good news? Mom won a gift certificate for lunch for two at the Eiffle restaurant at the Paris casino. And she didn't even have to take part in any pricing games.

(Hey, there's the big winner!)

The excitement continued as Randy called out contestants, four at a time. They would call new contestants for each of the pricing games. So, in this way, it's very different from the show on TV. That, and the host is not Bob Barker or Drew Carey, or even the promised Todd Newton. And the prizes were things like toasters and cookware.

We thought we had our little bit of luck when Mom won her restaurant gift certificate, but a little bit later in the show we heard, "JENNIFER SHATZER, COME ON DOWN!!!!"

We couldn't believe it. Jen actually got a chance to play the game!

Unfortunately, she listened to us when we yelled that she should bid $150 for a microwave. (The actual retail price was only $90). But in my defense, it was an LG microwave and they are pretty swanky. (Go ahead... Check them out on Amazon. Way swanky!)

Jen won a lovely Price is Right t-shirt for playing the game. And mom won her free lunch, which the girls planned to use the next day when the boys took on the Star Trek Experience.

("I was on the Price is Right and all I won was this lousy t-shirt!")

We found our way back to our hotel room where we planned to order bloody mary mix to add to the vodka purchased at the gift shop...

(If this isn't a group in need of bloody maries, I've never seen one!)
(Warning! Warning! Double chins result when taking self portraits!)

Stay tuned for "Vegaspalooza 2007 (the Conclusion)!"

Kitty updates

We've been getting regular deck visits from a neighborhood stray. We've decided to name him (her?) "Button."

We're pretty sure that Button is a stray and fairly young. He has his claws and seems to have been on his own for a while.

Our cats don't seem to be very bothered by him looking inside, but why would they be bothered? They are nice and warm and have fancy Christmas clothes to wear!


Buttercup sporting her Rudolph look and Q is Santa-licious...

Countdown to Vegas....

7 days!

Yes, in just one week I will be in lovely Las Vegas.

I am looking forward to wandering around the MGM Grand looking for my lucky Wheel of Fortune slot machine (the one under the picture of Gregory Peck) and hunting for the elusive margarita in an Eiffel Tower-shaped container (the one with a really big straw!)

The boys (Dad and Richard) will likely spend their time and money at the Star Trek experience. That's male bonding at its best.

Tonight I'll be at home preparing my own Thanksgiving feast of Tofurky, veggie stuffing and vegan mashed potatoes. Yummy!

Have a great holiday everyone!

What I'm reading

Currently I'm reading my next book club selection, A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. This memoir recounts the journey of a young boy during the Sierra Leone war in the early 1990's. This is a difficult story to digest, although it's one of our shorter book club selections.

I'm finding that I can't read this book in long stretches, and like another member of the book club, I can't read this title before bed unless I want to be haunted by the events depicted by Beah.

Frank discussions of war are understandably difficult to read, but in this case, the point of view of a young boy turned soldier is particularly difficult.

I'm at the halfway point of the book. At this point I highly recommend the book, as I feel it's very clearly written, offers valuable insight into the tragedy of war, and the knowledge that the author is alive and well, and seemingly well-adjusted to life in the United States makes me feel there will be a message of hope in the end.

I'm looking forward to our book club discussion on Monday, December 3rd at 7 p.m. at Wayne College. I'm sure we'll be discussing topics ranging from the resiliency of children, how a peaceful person might be turned into a killer, and issues dealing with our government's decisions of involvement (or lack of involvement) in wars around the world. The question that keeps creeping into my mind is this: Could this happen here?

I'm planning on viewing the author's appearance on BookTV, which is scheduled for Thursday, November 22nd at 11:30 a.m. and again on Friday, November 23rd at 2 p.m.

If you're interested in discussing this book or just interested in seeing what a book group is about, please join us on December 3rd!

Countdown to Vegas...

12 days!