I love that new year smell

Thank goodness 2009 is here. It's just a relief to have 2008 behind me and the promise of a new year before me.

I've been thinking about resolutions -- I prefer to think of them as goals instead of resolutions. "Resolutions" sounds so absolute! One of the simplest goals this year will be for me to finally see Chuck Berry perform live. Although he is probably a pervert, he is a rock and roll legend who regularly performs live right here in St. Louis, so it would be a shame if I didn't see him.

Another goal I have is to get back into riding centuries this year (100-mile bike rides). I didn't do any centuries in 2008, but did 3 of them in 2007.

I will also continue working towards the home organization/cleanout efforts I started last year and continue keeping in touch with friends/family.

I've also been teaching myself new things in the kitchen. I have been moving into making yeast breads in 2008 so I want to expand on that this year. This week I made my first ever homemade pizza dough and baked it on the pizza stone I received for Christmas. Today we're expanding on those efforts and making calzones. The major baking goal for 2009 is to make my own pie crust instead of using the store-bought stuff.

Professionally speaking, of course the first priority in this economy is just to hang on to a job. Beyond that, I just hope to continue growing and always learning at my workplace.

Finally, I will continue to keep God at the center of my life.

May God bless you and have a happy and healthy new year.

More WNBR "Coverage"

Roger Kramer has a nice roundup of some of the WNBR coverage, including this video:

The video gives a nice sense for the celebratory nature of the ride.

The Riverfront Times also has a slideshow and a video. (NSFW)

Weekend ride roundup

It was a great weekend for riding and cyclists in general. I had a great time participating in the first ever St. Louis World Naked Bike Ride (link is NSFW). No, I didn't go nude, but exposed as much as I was willing in public, which is to say, not much!

Especially when compared to other people:

One male rider was completely nude (there are pics of him in the album) except for a red hat, black socks, and black shoes. He had style, that's for sure.

It was a lot of fun and a creative way to protest oil dependency. Plus I just really love a nighttime group ride. Total mileage was around 22 by the time hubby and I rode from home, did the ride, and rode back home.

More photos are in the album. Many of the of the photos are NSFW . . .

From World Naked B...

After being out late Saturday night, it was rough hearing the alarm clock go off at 5 AM. I finally rolled out of bed, threw on the gear, and hit the road for what was going to be a 90-100 mile ride. Goal was to ride out to Chesterfield Valley to meet up with a group of fellow MS 150 riders, do a 31-40 mile training ride with the group, then ride back home. I got out to Clarkson on Baxter when I started to really worry about the gathering clouds in the distance. Around Wild Horse Creek Road I saw streak lightning. I was just looking for a spot to pull over and make a phone call when my team mate beat me to the punch.

So I turned around and was headed back on Baxter when it became obvious that I was not going to be able to outrun the storm. So, seeing the Monarch Fire Department fire station # 1 with its garage invitingly wide open, I ducked inside. The fragrance of a hot, homemade breakfast made its way temptingly from the kitchen into the garage. A couple of the firemen came into the garage a few minutes later and I let them know I was hanging there until the storm passed. They were very gracious and invited me to eat breakfast. I really would've loved to try their cooking, but I had 30 miles left to go on that ride and couldn't put anything substantial in my stomach. But I took them up on their offers to refill my water bottles and to hang out as long as I needed.

So, I hung out, watched the lightning and rain, then checked out one of the guys' new Harley, and chatted for a long time with a fireman named Shelby. I really enjoyed the conversation and really appreciated their hospitality and giving me a safe place to stay until I could get back on the road. Thanks, Monarch FD!

South City Ride

Had four other riders show up this evening and we had a nice time getting to know each other and chatting the miles away. Thanks Jeff, Bill, Adam, and Susan for coming out.

I was rewarded with a stunning moonrise as I rode home. The full moon is tomorrow; while it was still low in the east, its color resembled a pale peach veil.

Planning out at least one very major ride for the weekend -- probably on Sunday. Looking to do 75 - 80 miles. Probably will go to IL for that one.

Rolling

After spending about a month's worth of my free time holed up in the office in front of the computer, my schedule again is allowing me to hit the bike!

Went for a nice leisurely ride with a buddy from the stlbiking.com forums on Thursday night. The ride is open to any adult with a bike and helmet. Click the link for a map. Starts at 6:30 PM sharp. Pace is determined by slowest rider and uses a combination of on-street bike routes, streets without bike routes, and Grant's trail. No-go if rain or lightning. You can also check the thread on stlbiking.com forum for a go/no-go decision on Thursdays.

Saturday was a beautiful day for a ride. Left the house with the hubby around 9 AM and headed to Grant's trail, into Kirkwood, out to Manchester and stopped at our halfway point, which is my former pastor's new parish. He spotted me riding by his office window and popped out to say hi. He invited us in and refreshed our water bottles with ice and water then helped me plot out a different route home that avoided traffic on Clayton Road. It took us on an amazing downhill on Carman road -- I hit my brakes when I was nearing 40 mph. That was fun! I'll definitely be using that route again -- made a great loop and the hills in the area were a lot of fun/challenge. I made it a goal to work on my hills in 2008 and this is just the thing.

In case you are interested, here's the cue sheet:
From Carondelet Park, go west on Holly Hills Boulevard.
LEFT (south) on Morganford.
Leaving the city, Morganford turns into Union. Continue on Union.
Cross over I-55 on Union.
LEFT on Hoffmeister just after I-55 overpass.
RIGHT into Orlando Gardens parking lot to Grant's trailhead.
Continue on Grant's trail to the trailhead at Holmes.
LEFT (north) on Holmes from Grant's trailhead.
LEFT on Adams.
RIGHT on N. Geyer.
LEFT on Clayton Road (careful of fast-moving traffic).
LEFT on Weidman Road.
LEFT on Carman.
LEFT on Dougherty Ferry Road (fast-moving traffic approaching 270).
RIGHT on N. Geyer Road.
LEFT on Adams.
Adams turns into West Lockwood. Continue on West Lockwood.
West Lockwood turns into East Lockwood. Continue on East Lockwood.
LEFT on Big Bend.
RIGHT on Murdoch.
Bear LEFT onto Murdoch Cut-Off.
RIGHT on Lansdowne.
RIGHT on River Des Peres boulevard (fast-moving traffic; no shoulder).
LEFT on Morganford.
RIGHT on Holly Hills Boulevard back to Carondelet Park.

Total mileage is right around 45 or so. You could add more mileage by zipping around Carondelet Park a few times or if you are feeling adventurous, you could turn around at Weidman and Clayton and take Clayton all the way back to Forest Park and do the 7 miles around Forest Park. Lots of options.

I'll post a map of the route when I get a little more time. Hope to see you out there.

Bike Month

May is National Bike Month -- just a way to encourage people to get on their bikes and ride! Also, it's a reminder to motorists that with the warmer weather comes greater numbers of cyclists on the road.

Friday was National Bike to Work Day. Trailnet, which is a fantastic locally-based organization that promotes active lifestyles, coordinated 20+ "refueling stations" where riders could stop by, grab a little pastry from Companion Baking, pick up some water, socialize with other riders, and head to work. They had a station in Forest Park by the History Museum with news media, so I decided to pop over there before work Friday morning to support Trailnet. It was a nice time to meet some other folks -- saw some familiar faces and met two people from the Multiple Sclerosis society.

The ride to work from Forest Park was around 4 miles. A morning mist permeated the park and the sun filtering through the trees was eerily beautiful.

Fun with Food

There is a segment of the population that really likes good food. In that segment, there is a subset who likes to know how to prepare good food. Within that subset, there's a group of people who like to know the science behind how the elements work together to make good food happen.

Alton Brown was made for this group.

I would call these people sci-foodies -- they are like science fiction geeks who love food and get into all the details of it. It's like being one of those trekkies who can rattle off any obscure detail about Star Trek you could ever think to ask -- like how many tribbles were used in the Trouble with Tribbles episode -- except the obscure details are about food. (For the record, I am not a trekkie and, no, I don't know the answer.)

Anyway, me and a bunch of other sci-foodies got to meet Alton Brown last Sunday as he gave a short talk and a book signing for Feasting on Asphalt - the River Run. He had some interesting things to say about sustainable agriculture, organics, and much more. He fielded lots of questions from the audience also.

One of his stops in the Feasting on Asphalt series last year was here in St. Louis. He visited numerous donut shops and as a result, I think St. Louis is known as the donut capitol of the country now! So I thought he might like to know about the Tour de Donut, which is a 32-mile bicycle race that takes place every July in Staunton, IL. He seemed really interested to learn about it and wrote it down on a note so he could remember it.

For every donut you eat, you can take five minutes off your time. Some people have consumed enough donuts to arrive at a negative adjusted time -- quite a feat when you consider that you have to scarf down tons of donuts then ride your bike in warm and muggy July weather. I did the race for the first time last year, but I opted out of the donut part!

It was delightful meeting Alton and who knows, maybe we'll see him at the Tour de Donut this year.

Catching Up

Finally the weather is improving. Better weather = more riding + less blogging. So a quick round-up is in order. . .

Cycling
Starting cycle-commuting to work last week on the new bike. All is going well with it. I am very fortunate (and grateful!) to have access to some really fantastic facilities at work for bike storage and showers in the fitness center for cleaning up. I will eventually invest in all-weather gear so I can ride in the rain if necessary.

Speaking of upgrades, yesterday I picked up some SPD pedals for the Dew so I can click into the pedals.

They are Shimano A530. I didn't realize how accustomed I had gotten to being clicked into my bike until I was riding with standard pedals again!

Fun stuff
Went to music trivia at St. Stephen's last night. What a great time! I never go to any trivia night with the intent to win -- just to play and have a good time, which I did.

Music
Went to Barry Manilow Friday night -- yes, Barry Manilow. I am not a huge fan, but was going along with the hubby, who really likes him. Yeah you read it right -- I said my hubby really likes Barry. Anyway, it was neat hearing certain very popular songs of his live. I think I counted a 27 piece orchestra: 11 strings, 9 horns, 1 rhythm/acoustic guitarist, 3 keyboardists + Barry from time to time, 1 percussionist, 1 drummer, 1 bass guitarist. He also had four backup singers. By the way, Barry really loves his Botox.

Chaifetz
On top of it being a Barry concert, it also happened to be the first event inside the new Chaifetz Arena. They have some serious logistics issues to work out, but the facility itself was fine.

Food
Have been to several food places since I posted last. Went to The U sandwich shop, Buffalo Brewing Company, and Pappy's Smokehouse. All three are at the corner of Lindell and Cardinal, just east of Compton. Food was good in all three, though the U needs work on handling its orders well.

Faith
Last but not least, of course, is God! Since starting my new job, my schedule has not afforded me the opportunity to go to weekday Masses, which I miss a lot. I think I am going to give a try to the mid-day Mass at one of the downtown Catholic churches.

Regarding today's readings, I am always so happy when the Holy Spirit is given special attention in the readings. I think we often overlook the Holy Spirit and it is unfortunate, because the Holy Spirit is a wonderful source of wisdom and guidance for us in our day to day living. Try using the Examen of Consciousness to get in touch with that guidance every day -- you may find it to be a wonderful source of grace throughout your day by adding it to your everyday routine.

Do the Dew

I decided to take the cycle-commuting plunge and recently picked up a 2007 Kona Dew. I added a rear rack, panniers, bike computer, bell, and tail light to it. I moved the computer from my road bike to the Dew and indulged myself in a new cadence computer for the road bike. I need to add a headlight on the Dew, but think I can cannibalize one from another bike instead of buying a new one.

The Dew is surprisingly peppy to ride and can take going up and down curbs with ease.

It's a simply elegant bike without a bunch of unnecessary bells and whistles. I like the trigger shift system, which is what I was accustomed to on my mountain bike prior to getting the road bike last year. I even like the periwinkle color!

My new workplace is just 6.6 miles from home. One of the reasons I chose this employer over a couple of others was their proximity to home, their on-site fitness center, and their accommodations for cycle-commuters. I knew that they had secured parking for bikes -- I was envisioning an outdoor area with perhaps a nearby parking attendant. I had no idea how nice of a facility it would be! I took the tour of it this week and it turns out the secured parking is indoors, on the 4th floor of one of the buildings, accessible only to those who have registered themselves for a spot. Wow!!!! The registration also includes a locker where I can stow my stuff! The fitness center is only two floors up, so since I have a membership there, I can use it to grab a shower.

I am really excited about commuting by bike -- great way to get some exercise and help the environment! I am also excited about not having to buy as much gas -- it's about $2.50 a day just to get back and forth to work. My husband is even getting into the act -- he was so impressed with the Dew's ride that he decided to buy one for himself and he is planning on cycle-commuting a couple of days a week also.

Newstead Tower Public House

Just a quick summary review of Newstead Tower Public House, where hubby and I recently went with a friend. Scale of 1 - 5 with 5 being the best.

Atmosphere - 3.5
Interesting building shape -- renovator did a good job working around a series of structural support posts that slice the room in half. Nice decor for a pub, with interesting colors, good lighting, and other decor touches to look at. Smoke free, which is a wonderful thing. Seating at the bar or in tables and chairs. Big windows to look out of. The acoustics of the space make it difficult to carry on a conversation when there are lots of people in the space. Musical entertainment that started later in the evening put the kibash on most efforts to chat.

Drinks - 3
The pub had a surprisingly limited selection, but that didn't seem to bother me or my companions. I had a Griesedieck Brothers Golden Pilsener and my friends had their usual Bud Select and Dewar's with water.

Food - 2.5
I had "Benne’s Farm roasted chicken sandwich with brie, arugula and aioli" and the sandwich was ever so mild on flavor -- I think the most flavorful thing on it was the arugula. I put pepper on it to give it a little more interest. Wouldn't order it again.

Hubby had fish and chips, which was described on the menu as "beer battered cod with fried potatoes, chopped pickles and mayonnaise". He liked them and cleaned his plate. Even though the menu didn't specify it, his meal came with a little side of greens.

My friend had a hamburger, described as "Fruitland Farm grass-fed ground chuck with pickles & field greens". He liked it, and cleaned his plate, but his expectation on the field greens was that it would be a small side salad as opposed to a garnish on the burger itself. Since my hubby is not so much an herbivore, I offered his greens to my friend.

Portions were small-ish overall.

Service - 2
One word -- slow. There seemed to be a total of three servers handling the space. It seemed to me that one of the servers who might have really been intended to work the bar was helping out the other two. In any case, it amounted to what appeared to be some level of confusion. Replacement drinks were slow in coming.

Overall rating of a 2.5+. Would go there again.

Off the Vine

Last night, I went with some friends to the new-ish restaurant, Off the Vine. Another friend wanted a review, so I figured I would post it here also.

1 - 5 rating system, with 5 being the best.

Atmosphere: 2.5
It's the former Blue Water Grill space on Hampton at Columbia. Low-ish ceiling, or at least it seems that way with heavy beams in the structure. In addition to the dark brown beams/ceiling, the walls were painted a dark mustard, and the floor is a concrete slab. Decor was nice enough, if maybe a little sparse, but with a place that small, there's not a lot of room for elaborate decor. While we were there, there was a downpour outside and a table about six feet from us had to be moved because the ceiling was leaking. Since I am allergic to cigarette smoke, I was worried there would be a problem with smoking, since they allow it/have a bar area, but no one there smoked, or if there were smokers, I didn't notice it.

Drinks: 3.5
They had a very extensive wine list. You can get wines by the glass, half carafe, and bottle. They also had a decent assortment of beers and cocktails.

Food: 3

Braised Short Rib as starter: 1
Very small portion considering it was an $8 appetizer -- the meat itself was literally two bites. Meat was very tender. Served on top of a green risotto, which was pretty, but I have no idea what the flavor of the risotto was -- the menu says it was an Italian parsley risotto. Under the risotto was a sauce. On top of the risotto was a grouping of olives, mushrooms, and garlic. The olives did not go well with the dish. The sauce seemed like an attempt at a burgundy sauce, but it was bitter as if some ingredient in it had been burnt and did not taste good at all. The meal had a loooooong way to go to recover from this poor start.

Frisee salad: 3.5
I have never had a salad with a poached egg on it before, but it worked well. It was a hearty cold weather salad -- also had potatoes, red onions, pancetta, and cracked mustard vinaigrette on it. The greens were very fresh.

Roasted Beets salad: 3.5
Lots of good flavor. Well prepared. Nice presentation. Interesting/artistic colors. The goat cheese fondue, which served as the dressing, was especially good with the beets.

Andouille and crab gumbo: 4
This item is not on their online menu, but it's on their in-house menu because they just started offering it six days ago, according to our waiter. It comes with a generous number of substantially-sized andouille sausage chunks. Crab bits were more broken down and blended throughout. I had the 10 oz. bowl portion and I would definitely order it again.

Hanger steak: 4
This steak came with pomme frites and a creamed spinach; this is also is not on their online menu. I was concerned this steak was going to be tough, but it was very tender, flavorful, and the pan juices included underneath were a good choice. The creamed spinach (their menu refers to it as "melted" spinach) was very mild/delicate, and I think maybe if one were eating the steak alongside it may have been too delicate to go with that beefy steak, but on its own it was quite nice.

Devil's food cake with peanut butter center: 2
I was envisioning more of a lava style center, but it was more of a peanut butter-flavored cake in the middle of a dark chocolate flavored cake with a ganache poured over the top, garnished with whipped cream, mint leaf, and strawberry cut into a rose shape. This dish was not as exciting as I thought it was going to be -- the taste was rather drab. I should have gone with the meyer lemon cheesecake instead.

Portions: 2.5
Generally speaking, the portions were small-ish for the price, except when it came to the "large plates" menu items. This worked out great for me, but if feel like big portions, this is not the place to go. The hanger steak was the only item we ordered from the large plates section of the menu and it was a decent portion. They could have been a little more generous with the pomme frites, I think -- the portion looked like one potato's worth (not that one person really needs any more than that, but they are good for sharing). In looking at the other plates that were going around, it seemed the large plates were generally a good portion, though not huge/oversized.

Service: 2
I had what has to have been one of the most peculiar servers I have ever had wait on me. His mannerisms were very odd and his style distracting. He was usually on the spot with most things we needed, so his timing was not an issue, but he was just a one-off. I think he was going for an "elegant flourish" style of serving, but really ended up more in the "awkwardly over-trying" category. I didn't see other servers doing it, so I think it was just his thing. But I have to give him goody points because at the end of the meal, when he asked how we liked everything, I mentioned the bit about the braised short rib and without prompting, he took that off our bill.

Overall, I'd give the place a 3.5. They have improvements to make, but the food has promise/interest. I would go there again.

St. Patrick

Today's celebrations go much beyond that which is typical of a saint's feast day -- in St. Louis it's an unofficial holiday! But, remembering that we are in Holy Week, I thought I would share with you this prayer of St. Patrick:

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.

I bind to myself today
God's Power to guide me,
God's Might to uphold me,
God's Wisdom to teach me,
God's Eye to watch over me,
God's Ear to hear me,
God's Word to give me speech,
God's Hand to guide me,
God's Way to lie before me,
God's Shield to shelter me,
God's Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.

I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.

Christ, protect me today
Against every poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the poop [deck],
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.son who thinks of me, Christ in the eye that sees me, Christ in the ear that hears me.

First Ride of 2008

Went on the first bike ride of the 2008 cycling season yesterday. Just an easy 15 miles or so on Grant's Trail. Felt good to be back in the saddle again.

Weather today is also warm so hubby and I are planning another ride -- probably try Route 66 State Park today, since it is one we haven't done before. This park was created out of what used to be the Times Beach community.

Mardi Gras!

Headed down to Soulard today to see Gumbohead play at Lucas School House.

From Mardi Gras 2008

Had a fantastic time as I danced my cares away this afternoon. So did a lot of other people:

From Mardi Gras 2008

Outside of Lucas, there were a ton of people partying. I was glad I was on the edge of Soulard and not in the middle of this:

From Mardi Gras 2008

Looking forward to heading to Lucas again soon, and I hope they do the same deal ($10 cover gets you in for three bands for the day) for next year's Mardi Gras.

Bread of Life

Had a busy weekend last weekend, then a marathon this week, so I am just now getting a chance to post something substantive.

Last Sunday I attended the sixth annual Food and Wine Experience, which is a fundraiser for the Repertory Theatre. My main reason for going was to see Fr. Dominic Garramone, who hosted the PBS program Breaking Bread with Fr. Dominic and is author to five cookbooks.

I picked up one of his cookbooks while on a holiday shopping visit to the Hill and am delighted by the way in which he weaves baking instruction with faith lessons and tradition. I have been a baker of one thing or another for as long as I can remember, but only recently (2006) converted to Catholicism. So as a newbie Catholic -- newbie Christian for that matter as I was agnostic before I decided to convert -- but experienced baker, his book has been a fantastic way for me to add more depth and substance to the food traditions I have known all my life.

While I was there, I picked up another book of his, Bake and Be Blessed. I'm not yet done reading it, but its premise is to parallel the bread making process to how we must nurture and develop our faith life.

It was wonderful to meet him in person, and he was just brimming with joy, love, and grace.

From Food and Wine...

I have a neat story that vividly illustrates one of Fr. Dominic's points he makes throughout his work and writing -- sharing our blessings and our bread. As he was giving his talk, Fr. Dominic tossed samples of his breads to the audience.

From Food and Wine...

I caught one of the corn bread muffins (above) and asked the audience members around me if they would like to share. All three said yes so I broke off samples for each of them.

After Fr. Dominic's talk was over, I chatted with one of the women with whom I shared the muffin. Turns out she had a spare complimentary ticket to the "Reserved" area of the event, which offered access to other wines and food samples not available with the ticket I had purchased. She asked if I would like to have the spare ticket since her friend with whom she had planned to attend couldn't make it. I said yes and thanked her for her generosity.

All I did was share a little piece of a humble corn bread muffin with her -- one which Fr. Dominic had shared with me -- and she was so gracious in return. If only we could all take this same lesson -- to give and return freely -- into our daily lives, imagine how beautiful a world in which we would all live!

Whether is is the Bread of Life or a simple corn bread muffin you break and share with those around you, bread is made to be shared.

I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh. - John 6:51

Three Monkeys

Hubby and I just tried a relatively new (open just a couple of months) restaurant last Thursday called Three Monkeys.

We ordered the Romeo's Red Wings tossed in Jamaican BBQ sauce. Having had some exposure to West Indian and Jamaican food -- maybe a little more than the average St. Louisan -- I had a hard time discerning what about these wings made them "Jamaican BBQ" style, but it didn't matter that much to me since they were pretty darned tasty. I also ordered a bowl of their chili, which, according to their menu has beer and tequila in it. If it does, I couldn't taste it or, if I did taste it, it didn't seem to add much to the flavor. The menu also says it is served piping hot. On a cold January evening, I was looking forward to a steaming bowl of chili, but it was served just a little warmer than lukewarm. The final nail in the coffin on the chili selection was the consistency. I hate to say it, but it looked like the consistency of Alpo. Sorry -- it's the truth, though. So, if I were you, I would give the chili a miss.

However, 3mstl redeemed itself with its wood-fired pizza. Boy oh boy, was it good! We had the "Quick-Sand" variety, which is topped with sausage, pepperoni, bacon, and andouille sausage. And, at the risk of offending my native St. Louisan friends, thank God there was no icky provel cheese on it -- mozzarella is the only way to go!

Their interior is by far one of the most beautifully done bar/pub spaces I have ever seen. The details of the wavy glass in the doors is captivating, the woodwork is so warm and inviting, and even the bathrooms are stylish.

They have half-price pizza Tuesday through Friday from 3 - 6 PM, and drink specials during the same hours. I look forward to trying other menu items in the future.

Highway 40/I-64 Shutdown

Well in case you haven't heard -- and you should have if you live in/around the St. Louis metropolitan area -- MoDot closed a major portion of I-64 this week. Starting Jan. 2, I-64 (or highway 40 as it is affectionately known to many St. Louisans) was closed in both directions from Ballas to the I-170 interchange. It won't reopen again until December 31 of this year. Then, once that is reopened, all lanes in both directions will be closed between I-170 and Kingshighway for a year.

So far, the construction efforts I have seen have been pretty impressive. Last year, I worked in a building at the corner of Hanley and Eager roads, and was afforded a pretty good view of the construction of the new I-170/I-64 flyover ramp interchange. Amazing what was accomplished in just one summer!

There doesn't seem to be a lot of dilly-dallying around in this construction effort and while I appreciate there are going to be some major inconveniences for people who are trying work around the closures, I would rather see the project get done in a couple of years and in relatively safety for the workers vs. it dragging on for years on end. And hey, you could always live and work in the city, where no such headaches exist; even if a major interstate is closed, there are lots of ways to get into downtown via the streets. ;)

Jive and Wail

I love the new dueling piano bar, the Jive and Wail, which is in Maplewood. Hubby and I were there on opening night in September, which happened to be our wedding anniversary. We were brought there that night by a happy coincidence.

I had read info on the web about this dueling piano bar coming to Maplewood. I was interested to go, but hadn't heard/seen much about an open date. Then one day, I was inside a Bread Company near my work, standing in line waiting to make my lunch order. There was a fellow in front of me who turned to me and said he was originally from the east coast, and now lived in Florida, but everywhere he had ever been, the Bread Company was called Panera Bread Company, while here in St. Louis it was called St. Louis Bread Company. He wondered aloud to me why that was. I said that it's because they are headquartered here and while they tried to change the name in this area, I think they must have gotten some feedback about it from St. Louisans who didn't like the change, so it still remains St. Louis Bread Company. So after that, we talked for a couple of minutes and he told me he was in town to play piano at the Jive and Wail and invited me. I told him I had heard about it before, but didn't know it was open yet, and he said that very night was going to be their soft open, so I should come on down.

So, hubby and I made it there that night after dinner, and it was a great time, even if there weren't that many people there that first night. We really loved it from the beginning. I had never been to a dueling piano bar before, so it was a new experience and one that I enjoyed much more than I expected I would. It's just a great time to sing along to songs played live for you by two folks on pianos -- amazing to watch/hear them sing and pluck these songs out on the piano with no sheet music!

Well here it is going on a couple of months now since that first night, and this place has gone nuts -- it's so busy now we can barely get into the place ourselves!

We stopped in again last night because the pianist I mentioned above, Matt Nichols, was playing. It was good to see him again; very nice guy. If you get a chance you should go see him -- he'll be playing there now through New Year's Eve. Here's a pic of me and him from last night. He had the cutest t-shirt on that you can see in the pic -- Linus playing on the piano with Snoopy watching and the word "PLAYER" underneath. Clever.

What's it like to party at the biggest brewer in the world?

Short answer -- lots of fun! I contract at Anheuser-Busch and they were nice enough to invite me to a holiday party earlier this week. I grabbed some pics while I was there.

You had ice sculptors:

Penguins:

Arcade games galore:

Musicians:

A Clydesdale:

Lots and lots of people:

There was also an old-fashioned style photo snapshot booth, a mechanical bull, an oxygen bar, a nightclub with a DJ spinning, and food. Oh yeah, and there was beer. It was a great time.

Grumass!

A couple of my brothers-in-law are in a local band called Grumass. Went to see them play last night for the first time at Off Broadway -- lots of fun and they played great!

From Grumass! 12/...

I had a good time dancing, which I haven't done in a while!

From Grumass! 12/...

I hope to see them put together another show in the near future.

Neat thing about last night was that all six of the Ryan siblings were partying together.

From Grumass! 12/...

I made the mistake of thinking they were playing at Broadway Oyster Bar, so hubby and I accidentally went there first. Oops! We decided to stay for a few minutes to grab something to eat and ended up chatting with a vivacious bunch of SLU students, who were there to celebrate one of their sorority sister's 21st birthday.

From Grumass! 12/...

We offered them some of our chips, since we weren't going to be able to finish them, and they gratefully accepted.

From Grumass! 12/...

They were a lot of fun and engaged us in conversation, asking lots of questions about us, where we go/what we do on the weekends, about my husband's kids, etc. It seemed like they were looking for info on what "real St. Louisans" do/are like. They were cute/fun!