“Cowboys Win – twice in one week”
After many meetings in Mexico on Monday, we retired to an excellent Argentinian steakhouse for dinner, and to watch the Cowboys destroying the Eagles. Damon was the only Eagles fan in the group and it was hard not to feel badly for him. This picture shows the fancy disinfecting unit in front of the restaurant – only Eagles fans had to walk through it 🙂
I thoroughly enjoyed the overall meal and experience. The shrimp empanada appetizer (served in a burlap sack) was a great start. My dry aged chorizo steak was a wonderful way to continue. I’ve never had such a large table side menu before. That’s Norma (my LATAM CIO) and Francisco (LATAM COO) in the picture.
They had the most creative dessert menu presentation that I’ve seen:
The flight back on Tuesday evening was very smooth. Except for Blair. He was catching a flight from Dallas to Austin, circled for an hour in thunder storms, and ultimately returned to Dallas.
I forgot to mention that I woke up on Tuesday to the news that Alicia had totaled her Jetta – not her fault. A girl ran a red light and ploughed into the front left side of the engine. Damon spent the night with us after the flight from Queretaro and agreed with D’s suggestion that we ship our Passat out to Alicia and look for a new car.
I took Finn for sushi after I picked him up from work on Thursday. He loved the place I chose. The salsa dancer (pictured here) was a great dish, and we picked out a couple of others that were equally delicious. McD was surprised that I wouldn’t go for sushi with her but took Finn. Can’t win!
The Passat was due for a service on Friday. I took D over to drop it off and then we enjoyed a Taco Deli lunch. Always so good. I arranged for us to test drive the VW Atlas Cross Sport when we picked up the car on Saturday. The first test with a V6 engine didn’t work out – under powered for the car. The second drive with the turbo engine was better, but we’re not convinced yet. The price point is quite attractive, so we’ll see what we end up doing for a second car. Penelope is quite concerned.
Ollie made a trip down to San Jose on Saturday and accompanied Will on the patio of Rosie’s Irish Pub while he enjoyed a shepherd’s pie. I’ve had that there before and it’s delicious.
I was texting my friend Tom in New York on Sunday to see what was new. Was not expecting him to reply that he had triplet grand-children. The guy in the middle, Michael, was only 1 lb. at birth and spent 4 months in the NICU- I’m sure he’ll catch up quickly.
Cowboys watching on Sunday was very pleasant. A great win over the 3-0 undefeated Carolina Panthers to advance to 3-1 and top the NFC East division. Finn watched with me and enjoyed D’s pigs in the blanket football snack. There was a gecko on the patio trying to get into the action.
It’s always fun to text with Campbell and Tim during the games. Especially when the Cowboys are doing well.
I really enjoyed S. A. Cosby’s “Razorblade Tears.” Even better than his last, “Blacktop Wasteland”, with more complex and relatable characters and more vivid action. Not for the feint of heart, but really well done. Here’s the Amazon review:
“We couldn’t have loved Cosby’s last book, Blacktop Wasteland, more, so it’s gratifying to report that Razorblade Tears is just as good, if not better. Cosby has an uncanny knack for weaving righteous anger, heartfelt reflection, and even the inarticulate space between those two, into compulsively readable prose. Ike Randolph, a Black man fifteen years out of jail, meets his son’s father-in-law under the worst circumstances. Buddy Lee is also an ex-con, and his anguish at hearing that his son and his son-in-law—Ike’s son—have been gunned down in cold blood, is outpaced only by his guilt at how unaccepting he was of his son’s sexuality. But if these men missed the mark with their boys during their lifetimes, they will not let them down in death. The two horsemen of the apocalypse—driven by vengeance, race, and grief—make for a killer thriller. —Vannessa Cronin, Amazon Book Review”
I’m about 2/3rds of the way through “Away with the Penguins” by Hazel Prior. This was a book that Heather gave Dad for his birthday, and I thought it looked really interesting. It was described as being similar to “Eleanor Oliphant is Just Fine”, a book that Diana and I loved last year.
I’m really enjoying the book and the comparison is very accurate, with Veronica and Eleanor sharing many characteristics. I like the first person narrative from Veronica’s point of view very much.
More to come next week when I finish up.
A new song from Nathaniel Rateliff is always a highlight. Not my favourite but still a good song:
Here’s a great new song from Hayes Carll. Not with his wife, but equally great:
And finally, I was looking for an album to play this week and came across an unopened copy of this gem. I remember not loving the record when first released (hence the unopened album), but now I can’t imagine what I was thinking. So many great songs.
Stay safe, kind, and patient!