David Cassidy

Twenty years ago I made the promise to myself that I would someday meet David Cassidy. I don't remember the particulars of the situation, but likely it involved the marathon Partridge Family episodes that I watched over the summer of 1990.

Some time later I discovered that David Cassidy had his own show in Vegas, but when I looked into tickets it was STUPID expensive. Going to a show in Vegas isn't that convenient, either. You have to get a room, drive for 2 1/2 hours, it costs money, money money.

Well I found David Cassidy in today's paper. He's performing one hour away, in Laughlin, Nevada. Tickets are $25. July 31st. I'm there.

My Own Recipe

I always make my dinners different--always looking for a better way to make pasta, beef stroganoff, etc....
Last night I made a dish that was so good I couldn't stop complimenting myself. So here's the recipe....

Garlic Sausage Pasta

You need:
1/4 cup diced sweet onion
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1 tablespoon garlic, diced
1 large zucchini, diced
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 stick butter (real butter)
3 garlic flavored Johnsonville brats
Angel Hair pasta

Melt the butter in a large fry pan, add the tomatoes and red bell pepper. Stir occasionally.
Meanwhile, bring water to a boil in a saucepan, for the Angel Hair pasta.
Lightly brown the brats in a fry pan, remove them from the heat so they can cool. (browning the brats makes them much easier to cut up)

Once the tomatoes are cooked to a paste, add the garlic and onion. Cook for about five minutes then add the zucchini. Reduce the heat to low.
Chop the brats into large pieces, add them to the vegetables and cook them till they are brown throughout.
Turn off heat, add the grated cheese and stir lightly.

Boil the Angel Hair pasta till cooked, serve with the sauce promptly!

Flying With Fireworks

Watching the 4th of July fireworks can be a real hassle. The best seat in town is on the water, so that means launching the boat and hanging around in Thompson Bay till 9pm. To launch a boat on 4th of July, you either have to get up really, really early to beat the crowd--or you have to commit to waiting for quite a long time in line for your turn at the launch ramp. And the boat needs to be packed up with a full day's supply of drinks and food. The lake itself is very busy, so you've got to always be keeping an eye out for other boats and jet skis. It's not relaxing at all.
Then there's the option of driving somewhere near the lake to watch from the car. Since the beach gets packed full of people that's not a very easy option. And the traffic gets insane. Yes, we're high maintenance whiners.

I had the idea of taking the Cessna up in the air. Pretty good idea, I have to admit. I'm glad I took my camera, because it was definitely a different vantage point and I like to share!
My first pictures were blurry because I hadn't yet figured out the settings for taking night photos. It's not easy!! But once I got to trying different options, I started getting better results.





The boats down on the black lake below us looked like a starry sky, there were so many. I think that was the most impressive thing about our view.

A few people spotted us, as we circled. Steve's daughter was at a friend's house and she said they'd commented on the plane that was flying around up near the fireworks. Well we weren't near, but I'm sure it looked like it.

It was very neat to see the show from up above, I'm glad we did it!