Cocky in South Carolina

We traveled to Columbia, South Carolina this past weekend to watch our Gator women's basketball team take on the Gamecocks. Traveling to away games is so much fun! Just wish some of the venues were nearer to us.

We stayed at the Springhill Suites on Lady Street. This hotel had been recently renovated and we really liked the room. Usually, our favorite hotel is Embassy Suites because of the wonderful breakfast they provide.

We left Gainesville at around 10am - it's a relatively short drive (6 hours) and saw no reason to awake god-awful early. After arriving and checking in, we searched for a place for dinner. The last time we were in Columbia we dined at California Dreaming. While we enjoyed our experience there we wanted to try new places, so we chose Blue Marlin - just a ten minute walk from the hotel. It was great! The ambience, food and wait staff were great! And, the best mashed potatoes I've ever had.

Blue Marlin was at the end of this lighted walkway.

After dinner we walked around downtown Columbia. It was really nice.

Lots of renovation going on. Loved this sign.

We will come back to the Cafe Strudel! Great atmosphere and food! The Sunrise Burrito was excellent!

Whenever we're in a new city, we're learning to use our phone apps to find great places to eat. I used Yelp and Foursquare to find ones we thought we'd like. Since, I know some Yelp reviews can be untrustworthy, I cross-referenced to pinpoint that perfect place. And, Cafe Strudel was that perfect place! We got up Sunday morning and walk about a mile to the Cafe. It's clearly a local favorite - there were already a number of people there waiting for it to open. They had a signup sheet outside. The service was pretty fast considering every table was occupied. The coffee was self-serve which freed up the wait staff to provide excellent service. This is a winner. We will go there again the next time we're in Columbia.

Mir on the Bridge Over the River Congaree.

Walking back to the hotel we stopped to take a few pictures of the river. It looks pretty cold but it was actually in the mid to high 40s and very pleasant for walking.

Another view of the river.

Our team warming up before the game.

The Colonial Life Arena is a great basketball venue. Just loved it. Sure do hope the renovation of the O'Connell Center results in as good a venue. I tell you, it's embarrassing walking into some of these SEC arenas and then walking into the O'Dome.

Coach Butler intense during a timeout.

Kathy Cafazzo, our Gator information director, took this quick video of us at the game. Go Gators!



In case you're wondering, we lost the game. Our team played really hard and we're very proud of their effort. If you were to look at the rosters of both teams, you'd wonder how we were even in the game. We're getting there - our team is oh so close to competing for an SEC championship.

Really disappointing with the officiating. 

The officiating this year is really inconsistent. They've done a good job of controlling the hand check but everything else has seemed to fall to the wayside. Not sure what is going on with them - they're frequently out of position and seem to anticipate fouls instead of watching the entire development of the play. It is this writer's humble opinion that officiating has produced more blatant bad calls this year than normal. There's always going to be missed calls - but, please, not so many (and yes, missed calls on my team, too)! Since I live with a former basketball referee, I get the inside scoop on positioning and what each official should be watching. Sometimes, too many eyes are on the ball and not watching what is happening in front of them - or, they're not positioned properly to see the play. Okay, that's my rant.

The trip back was uneventful - did get into some rain but not too bad. Did I say I love smartphones? We listened to the Rutgers women's basketball game on the way home as well as several different podcasts. It was great!!

This was also the first time our pet sitter has stayed with both girls. It seemed to go well and so, we're set for the SEC Tournament!

That's all for now! Ciao.

PS. The title of this blog "Cocky in South Carolina" refers to "Cocky" the Gamecocks mascot. I guess I should have take a picture of him - the mascot uniform is a bit embarrassing. I wonder how Gamecock fans really feel about him.

Pour Me A Little Bubbly, Please...

TNT hosted a "Bubbly Tasting" party last night. As you can see from the pics, Terry put together a beautiful snack table.

And this delicious cheese cake! 

Now, this was a serious tasting. We each brought a bottle of bubbly. Terry organized and numbered each bottle. We spent the next hour blind tasting each and writing down our impressions. The goal was to pick the one you liked the best. We also wanted to compare taste to price as the costs ranged from $12.99 up to $140.00.

What I learned is that my palate cannot tell the difference between any traditional champagne. They all tasted exactly the same to me. This is good news - I'll never have to buy expensive bubbly because I would never be able to taste the difference.

The bubbly I gave my high mark to was this one below. A rose from New York. It was very lovely.

It was, as it always is at TNT's, a very wonderful evening!

Winter Wonderland

My sister-in-law just sent me this picture from her window in New Jersey. Fortunately, Rutgers has shut down and she doesn't have to leave the house.

Happy winter, everyone!

Twas the Night Before Christmas

Temps dropping into the 30's on Christmas!

It was an unusual Florida Christmas Eve...the temperature was wintery....WTF? Nevertheless, we were not going to let frigid weather dictate our enjoyment of this holiday evening.

Emma had put up her little tree and we gave it a little love by taking its picture. Tis the season!

The Nochebuena meal was prepared by Emma and Nancy. They worked diligently during the day to create a traditional Puerto Rican dinner...it was a meal to remember! The centerpieces of this gastronomic endeavor were the pernil and the pasteles. Forbes had a really good, and very accurate, article about pernil - it's worth your read - click here.

One's plate might resemble this one below:

Clockwise: pernil, brussel sprout, avacado, pasteles, sweet potato, beans and rice.

And, dinner is never complete without dessert! We enjoyed a yummy rum cake garnished with strawberries and whipped cream.

This rum cake was excellent! In fact, one piece was not enough...

An evening constitutional commenced after eating - complete with coyote stick to fight them back should we encounter any along the way. And, no, we did not sight any wild four-legged creatures this night but we thought we heard them howling in the distance.

Christmas Eve is not complete in this Puerto Rican household without a game of dominoes. It was a surprisingly close game, though, our team did not prevail.

"Shuffling" the dominoes actually does require a bit of skill. Here Miriam takes over as my attempt caused pieces to overturn.

On the way home, we tuned in to NORAD to keep track of Santa's locations as he delivered presents to boys and girls across the world.

Merry Christmas or Feliz Navidad to all and to all a good night!

Weekend Before Christmas

It's the weekend before Christmas - and a relatively quiet one. Our women's basketball team hosted it's annual Holiday tournament and won both games!


If you look closely at the picture you will see "Buddy the Elf" - aka soccer Coach Becky Burleigh!

This is our little tree. We've simplified Christmas to reduce stress and it has worked wonderfully!


We also added a few lights outside.

And, of course, we walked up to the Thomas Center for the luminaries, music, and fun.


I've been playing around with a new phone app that creates a watercolor out of an image. My target image was of Sydney. She stays put longer than Peanut so it's easier to snap a shot of her.

And another...


I'm kind of liking the look of these images. Next will try to get a good pic of Peanut...

Merry Christmas to you!

Christmas Surprise

I returned to the office after lunch and saw that my office had been transformed into a Christmas wonderland!

































Merry Christmas!


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Post Thanksgiving

It's been a lovely holiday weekend despite the cold weather. We've been able to relax some and take Sydney on several walks. Both she and Pea have had some quality nap time with us.

And, of course, what would the holiday season be without Baileys? We stocked up for the cold winter nights ahead.

Had the pleasure of watching that Bama-Auburn game - quite an ending. After that, every other game feels blah. Was hoping Bama would win ( I dislike OSU). Now, it looks like I'll be rooting for FSU. 

Our women's basketball team won today at the Junkanoo Jam. This was a needed win and I hope they can use it to jump start a string of good games. We really need to win out before the SEC season begins. Go Gators!

Got some more football to watch.

Ciao.

November Weekend

It's a slow Saturday. Came home from grocking today and saw our neighbor, Bodhi, napping in his favorite spot.

Last night Sydney spent the evening destroying her favorite purple hippo. We've ordered some new toys for her - she's being weaned from Prozac and needs some more toys to destroy.

And yes, it's basketball season. Here is a proud mom holding the head of January Miller, a fearless competitor. So, glad she's a Gator. Come out to next game on Tuesday at 7pm against St. Johns.

And then there's Peanut. She found the rocks comfortable. Her ears? They're very expressive and she insisted on flattening them for the photo. 

Just finished listening to Steve Russell's show after the loss to Georgia Southern. I've generally supported Will Muschamp being given another year. I must say, though, that I'm concerned whether he can do the job. Although, last year's team went 11-2, I never felt it was a great team and its shortcomings were exposed in the sugar bowl. This year seemed to be a continuation of that. Despite the team's woes I do not support booing these players. Remember these are kids out there. Show some civility, Gator fans.

It looks like it just started raining. This one's gonna bring cold weather. Oh, joy.

Ciao.

A Brief Video

A Frightful Halloween from Mirlisa on Vimeo.

Our annual quest to scare as many children as possible! A special thanks to TNT for loaning their pet, Precious. Happy Halloween!

 

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Boo!

It's not Halloween unless TNT host their annual Halloween Bash! This year's hallowed event was held at Rotting Oaks Cemetery in Greater BFA. Hey, redneck, get out of my picture. ( that was for you, Terry)

Our ghoulish hosts, the Count and Countess Dracula, with Braveheart.  The missus looks to whisper sweet nothings in his ears....wait, no...eat sweet nothings, apparently...

...And security is so important at these grisly events...this is Precious...nice doggie...Precious likes bones...Precious wants another bone...do you have a bone for Precious?...nice doggie...

Oh, dear, a sweet child...turned to stone and now, alas, will spend eternity holding jack-o-lanterns...so, children, when Grandmama tells you not to open the door to the attic...heed her words...

There was something very odd about the haunted manor...this room in particular...something just wasn't right....

A harmless little fire to warm us on a cool October evening...who was that rocking in the chair...

Beware the night...and things that go bump....BOO!

Happy Halloween!

It's Almost Heeeeeeeere!

Our favorite time of year is almost here! Less than a month from the first tip-off on November 8.

Today was our booster club's annual "tip-off" event to welcome back members and sign up new ones. I  had the privilege of posing with our loveliest mascot, Alberta.

Consider joining the Gator Backcourt Club - the official booster club for Florida Women's Basketball. See our website at www.gatorbackcourtclub.com.

Go Gators!

This and that...

Why an empty trash can? I was thrilled and thankful to see it empty at lunch today. When I left for work this morning it was occupied by an injured opossum. I won't go into detail about the cause of the injuries...all I can say is thank goodness for Florida Wildlife Care! They are wonderful and we will be donating to this organization...again...they've helped us before.

I just had a hankering to snap a pic of this butterfly in the backyard.

We went to St. Augustine to celebrate our anniversary. Here are Mir and Sydney in the center of town.

Okie dokie, it's getting late and both girls need to wee wee before nite nite, the girls being Pea and Syd, that is.

Ciao.

Pixie Dust

Her name is Pixie.