And now for something completely different......

This last weekend Lisa and I saw the play "Spam-a-Lot". Those who know me know I love Monty Python and one of my favorite movies is "In Search of the Holy Grail". The play was really funny and we had a great time.

The play is loosely based on the movie but Eric Idle added some other fun things to the play. This play was the only reason we bought season tickets for the theater this year. It was really worth the money.

This last weekend the opera house was having their open house and Lisa and I had some time to kill before the play so we took the tour and ended up buying season tickets to the opera this year. We got killer seats for the main three operas (LA TRAVIATA Verdi, DON PASQUALE Donizetti, , and NIXON IN CHINA Adams) but for the added show (THE FLYING DUTCHMAN Wagner) we got AWESOME seats. Our season tickets are in the mezzanine center stage but for Wagner we are in the 4th row center. After we bought our tickets we went into the house to check the seats and we were stunned at how great they were. We went back and thanked the girl in the ticket booth who got them for us.

After the play we went to the Capital Grill for dinner and and had the best steak we have ever had before (and we've been to Emeril's Delmonico's Steakhouse in Vegas). We had a great waiter who is in training to be a Master Sommelier, so we also had a awesome wine with dinner. Lisa and I stayed up in Denver at a local hotel and came home on Sunday morning.

It was a great weekend and it gave Lisa some time away to get her mind off of the rough week she just had. I know she missed stopping to see Grandma Rose and cleaning her glasses for her on Friday morning. We have just three more weeks until we leave for Italy. I hope to be updating our blog while we are in Italy. I'm thinking about taking my laptop with me because the hotel and the school both have WiFi.

In memory of Rose Senia

This is a very sad weekend for the Senia and Pizzitola families. Lisa's Grandmother Rose Senia passed away on Friday night. Rose suffered a minor heart attack earlier in the week but seemed to come through it well and we were looking to move her out of the hospital and into a care facility but she took a turn for the worse on Friday morning. Rose developed a lot of blood clots on her lungs and we knew the end was near. Lisa called me and the family gathered together to say their good-byes on Friday afternoon. Sadly because of the rapid pace of Rose's declining health some of the family couldn't make it, Robert had just left for Afghanistan and Rose's daughter Camille couldn't be there also. Cora and Rose's son Frank were there and Frank was with her when she passed.

For those who knew Rose you knew she has been battling Alzheimer's for the last several years. It was a form that was a rapid onset and in the last months Rose's memory had been fading quickly. In true form of the disease she had good days and bad days, but through it all she was a delight for all who knew her.

In respect of her wishes there will be no memorial service. Rose did not like them and said they were morbid and begged us not to have one for her when she died. Instead we will gather as a family and have a nice lunch and share our memories.

I still remember meeting her for the first time. Lisa took me to her house and we sat at the kitchen table and she showed me the family photo album and told me about her family. She asked me to open a bottle of Chianti for her so we could enjoy a small glass and get to know each other. When ever I have a glass of Chianti for the rest of my life I will always think of Rose and how much I will miss her.

We would like to thank the staff of the "The Bridge" for all there support during this time and for making Rose's last 2 years so wonderful. Rose loved the living at the Bridge and made many friends there. We also want to thank the wonderful nurses at Memorial Hospital. They were a source of comfort during Rose's final day on earth.

Goodbye Rose, we will all miss you very much. Say hello to Grandpa Charlie for us.

"Fine settimana Di Festa"

This year’s "Holiday weekend" was a hectic one for us. Once again the social director dragged me back out into public. Actually I had a great time this weekend and got to see a bunch of friends and celebrate some milestones with close friends.

On Saturday we got up early and went for our bike ride. We load up the bikes and go over to the Santa Fe Trail to knock out some miles. We are taking it in strides so we don’t have another asthma episode like we did in CA. It is part of our "get back into shape program". We also discovered that the bike Lisa has is more suited towards cruising the paved roads and not the dirt tracks. So we are selling it and going to get her a good off-road bike with fat tires. Later on Saturday we were invited over to Denny and Faye’s new house for a Housewarming/20 yr Anniversary/Faye’s 40th Birthday Party. They have a very lovely house (a custom build) in a new housing area of Monument and have a great view from their backyard. Hopefully they won’t loose it.

Sunday morning found us down at Joyce and Robert’s for the annual Balloon breakfast and BBQ. It was nice to see Joyce and her family; I haven’t seen them for a long time. They haven’t had the event in the last several years due to house renovations and bad weather but this year the house is almost done (just some finishing work) and we had good sun. We had a great breakfast and morning cocktails with good friends. We couldn’t stay for the whole day since we had another BBQ to go to. On our way back north we stopped at the Schroeg’s house for an afternoon BBQ.

It is always good to see the Shroegs. Erich and I go back many years and our wives have become very close friends. We had fun and I got to meet the head of their stamping group and her husband. He is a Navy pilot doing some time here in the Springs. I told him if he every wanted to come over while the ladies invaded the house he was always welcome. I feel for the poor guys with all those ladies in the house, I have heard the conversations get pretty, well lets just say intense. I told him I always have something to drink and a game on the television.

Monday found me cooking all day long both in the kitchen and on the deck. Lisa and the nurses in the ER decided to have a potluck since they were working on the Holiday this year and Lisa “volunteered” me to make BBQ. I may have put up a bit of static but it let me play with my BBQ and let me make some BBQ sauce. Now I love BBQ, all types and I am not going to debate which type is the best (Carolina, Texas, Memphis, or St. Louis, you can take the poll on the side of the page to voice your opinion) but this weekend I made pulled pork, which is a Carolina specialty so that mandated a Carolina BBQ sauce (it is a vinegar based sauce versus a tomato based sauce). I made a spicy version and a regular version for the ER. I also BBQ’d up a hen house full of chicken (for those non-pork eaters). I made up my own dry rub for the pork but used a commercial dry rub for the chicken. I have a great book that has taught me a lot about BBQ. It has taught me about proper dry rubs, when to use mops (the liquid used while BBQ’ing) and various sauces and sops. I think Lisa loves the book more than I do because she won’t even buy BBQ sauce any more, I have to make it. Also we don’t go out for BBQ I have to make that also. Well the meat was a big hit at the ER and so was the sauce; I got many compliments and was told that I could BBQ for them anytime I wanted. Lucky me huh?
The weather was great over the weekend (well except when I had the BBQ going, it ALWAYS rains when I have the BBQ going). I didn’t get anything done in the yard but I think we are going to have to start to winterize soon. Last year we got our first snow of the season in mid September and I think we will hit that mark again this year. They are calling for a big snow year again this year and thankfully I got me a big snow blower for the job!