Spot’s “real mom” visits Lincoln
I’ve been away from my blog for a bit . . . my sister came for a visit . . . so I was busy cleaning the house and then enjoying her company. It was great to have Shell visit our fine city and enjoy some good old sisterly fun. When we were kids we spent a lot of time playing board games, as we grew older, the competition became stiffer. So, to relive those times, I dug out Trivial Pursuit. BIG MISTAKE. Of course Shelly kicked my butt . . . although I am blaming Mr. Man for serving me two shots of tequila. I would have won, I think, had I not been under the influence of that evil tequila!
Since his mommy left, Spot has been inconsolable . . . at least I think he has. He hasn’t moved from his favorite chair (except to nag me to feed him, oh, and to also hold him for hours). Here’s a photo of the two:
I think Spot really enjoyed seeing his real mommy . . . he also had three people’s laps to jump to for extra cuddling.
To entertain Shelly, we visited our favorite eateries and she met my friends. Here’s a photo of us at Grateful Bread (although they’ve just changed their name to something I don’t remember).
From left to right: Shemelis Beyene, Mary Willis, Shelly, Dan Osborne. These are the biological anthropologists at UNL and my favorite people in the department. We meet regularly at the “soup shop” since the soup is healthy and inexpensive, the decor is, hmm, well interesting, and the ambiance tres bon. Shelly was impressed by the large collection of Mr. Potato heads.
The Soup Night crowd met up with us at La Mexicana for dinner:
Left to right: Dave, Joan, Shelly, me, Patti, Tom, Matt, Ken (hiding behind Matt),and Kim (missing were Betty & Ray). I think this shot was taken early in the evening since there’s no accumulation of empty beer bottles and margarita glasses! I’ve made reference to the Soup Night crew before. This is a group of great, interesting, caring, funny, intelligent, and RAUCOUS folks that help keep me sane!
On Saturday, Tom and I had to figure out the best sights to show off Lincoln . . . hmm . . . should we go to the Germans from Russia Museum . . . or the International Rollerskating Museum . . . or perhaps visit a local winery (nixed since we are from California . . . one does not go to England for its cuisine . . . one does not sample wines in Nebraska). Ultimately, we decided that Shelly would enjoy a tour of the State Capitol building. Here’s a shot of Shell:
The Capitol was constructed during the Art Deco period — this is REALLY apparent in its architecture, materials, and embellishments. It is truly a beautiful structure and well worth a visit (jeez, it sounds like I’m a member of the tourism board!).
Although Nebraska isn’t entirely flat, the Capitol Building is the most prominent structure in the area. This has led to some rather off color phallic nicknames for our great state’s seat of government!
This is a door! Currently, much of the art work is being cleaned and restored. The main floors are replete with mosaics and so much detail it is hard to take it all in. I’m pretty sure that this building would cost a fortune to build today.
We also visited Wildlife Safari which I love. No pictures from me, however, I forgot to charge my camera battery.
All in all, we enjoyed Shelly’s visit immensely. The best part was spending some quality time with her just talking about our lives. I regret that our busy lifestyles have led me to forget to be in better contact and be a more supportive sister.
It is too easy to forget the important things in life . . . I’m going to try to remember to call and communicate more with my only sibling. It is funny how I have assumed that my life issues are unique. Talking with my sis I realized that we need to be more open about our trials and travails since we actually have to confront similar situations.
Anyway, I am so glad Shell came for a visit. I really enjoyed our time together and hope that next time the entire family can come out for a visit. Oh, and BTW, I will be naming one of my chickens “Bobbie” !!! TTFN
Xxxicana's Weblog 
October 22, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Yes, what a wonderful visit! Thanks again to you and Mister Man for the great hospitality, sight seeing and dining. I agree with all of your sentiments, except I would have kicked your butt even without the tequila! Thanks to Mr. Man anyway 😉 Tell Spot I miss him very much too. Murphy III and Oreo are are not lap kitties like he is. I’ll send you some of my pics soon. Until our next telephone call, Love you!
October 22, 2008 at 6:08 pm
How big were those shots and were they Don Julio?
It was great to meet your sister; brains and beauty run in the family!
October 22, 2008 at 7:14 pm
What a great post! I almost felt like crying to see the picture of Auntie Shelly with spotter cat. I’m glad she got to reconnect with him and that you both caught up. keep up the posting for me :0
love larisa
October 22, 2008 at 8:10 pm
It’s not MY fault if you don’t know how to drink tequila! I kept saying, “Sip it! Sip it!”, but noooo, you slammed every shot. Now Shelley, there’s a woman that knows how to drink. And it was the special bottle of Herrdura Reposado that Dr. Girlfriend brought back for me from Ciuadad de Mexico este verano.
(I kept telling her, it’s like drinking Single Malt Scotch, or Irish Whiskey, or Brandy, you smell it, sniff it, left it waft into your sinuses, then sip it slowly, let it roll around on your tongue (oooh, I’m getting excited just writing this!), and take your time, enjoying it over a period of time, inducing a very enjoyable (and manageable) buzz that can be maintained for hours without going over the top. But even after those warning, you just threw back the shots like a drunken sailor. (And not even drunken sailors drink good tequila that way…. cheap tequila, sure). I must say though, your game improved greatly after you took that break to toss your cookies. Nobody even mentions I was in the game and right in the hunt, too. (Even though I realized later that Juan Carlos Navarro is an NBA player, not a former head of the IOC. The name I was trying to remember was Juan Antonio Samaranch. But I know that I impressed you both with the authority and immediacy of my answer, even though it was wrong.(Even if I had remembered the name correctly) It later dawned on me that it was even wronger (is that a word?) than I thought. Of course the right answer was Avery Brundage, the only American to ever hold the position of IOC president. Do I get retroactive points? It was a great game, lot’s of fun. Do I get points for not throwing the board across the room like I do when we play Scrabble? C’mon, teach, isn’t there SOMETHHING I can do for extra credit?
October 24, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Mr. Man – thanks for the compliment. I’m glad that my drinking talent did not go by unnoticed (of course, my grades in undergrad suffered for it 😉 ) And you’re right, you were in the game too (sorry, but the sibling rivalry eclipsed your participation). My compliments to you for having the talents of a great BS artist – say it loud and say it with authority. At the time we were greatly impressed by your apparent depth of knowledge of obscure IOC trivia, not realizing that NBA and IOC trivia are frequently mixed up. It must have been the tequila!