Shari's Restaurant

We visited Shari's in Belle Mill Landing (FoodMaxx shopping center). We were there on a Sunday Morning for Breakfast. Our meals:

Tina: I had the potato pancakes, which were tender, with a crisp outside. There were 3 medium sized cakes served with a dollop of sour cream and a generous amount of green onions. What I specifically appreciate about Shari's is that you get a personal sized carafe of coffee...I love that! Shari's decor has not changes since it was built in, I think, the early 1980's. Not terribly attractive, but certainly a throwback to my childhood.

James: (Biscuits and Gravy) The gravy was good. I prefer bacon gravy, but sausage was okay. The bacon was plentiful, they gave me four pieces. The hashbrowns were tasty as well. Eggs were well prepared and like I like them. I had hot chocolate as well and it was a bit too sweet, but good. Over all, an above average diner experience.

I liked the decor. Very late 70's style, made me feel 8 years old again. I still need to try Denny's and Perko's but for 24/7 dining, Shari's gets my seal of approval.

Embarking on a Red Bluff Culinary Journey

My boyfriend James and I are on a mission: to eat at every restaurant in Red Bluff. James just moved to Red Bluff in September from the metropolis of Corning...before that, Chico and before that the Oroville area. We enjoy going out to eat and decided that we should support our local restaurants by sampling them and writing about it.

Okay, the rules: In order to count as a true stop on this journey, we must have a full meal at said establishment. It is not enough to sample the pie at, say, the Countryside Cafe, or have a milkshake at Hal's Eat 'Em Up. We must both order something different. And we must blog about it. Not too tough. We will also include pictures as appropriate (or as we remember to).

I'm looking forward to this project. You're going to hear from both James and I, and in the coming days we will review The Cowgirl Cafe, Cozy Diner, Thai House and Luigi's Pizza.

Post 100: The Vagina Monologues!

The Vagina Monologues here in Red Bluff was a smashing success. Nearly 400 people joined us Friday Night to laugh and cry with our stellar cast. Their performance received a very well deserved standing ovation.

I want to thank Kelsey, Jessica, Brooke, Amy, Talia, Bree, Sonia, Beth, Lucy, Suzanne, Clara, and Melissa for their hard work and dedication. What a great team to work with. People loved it!

If you want to see more photos like the one above, please visit http://www.pbase.com/maxeys/vday2009 for the awesome photography courtesy of Tony Maxey.

Bravo, ladies--looking forward to V-Day 2010!

Twilight--the novel

I was mocked, therefore this post is deleted.

Lonely House

My niece (and her parents) are no longer residents of California. I am really really heartbroken to be without that little girl. She has lived with (or very near) me all her life. She is 2, and (in my opinion, biased though it may be) is the smartest little person on earth. She is cute and charming...I could go on. I miss her voice, her laugh...I'm going to start crying again.

It is going to be a really long, rough few weeks until I get used to this quiet house. Now, more than 2/3 of my family lives on the island. It is just me and my bro now.

Manicotti Tonight

Spinach Manicotti:

Filling:
1 large carton of Cottage Cheese
1 large Onion, finely chopped
1 package Frozen spinach, thawed
Generous handful Shredded Cheese

Mix filling ingredients, stuff into uncooked manicotti shells. Line up in baking dish, top with sauce:

2 cans Tomato Sauce
1 can Tomato Paste
4 cloves Chopped Garlic
1 large Onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup Sun Dried Tomatoes
Oregano
Parsely
Salt
Sugar

Bake at 350 for about 35-45 minutes, until the pasta gets soft. Top with a generous amount of shredded cheese, brown for about 15 minutes. Meatless and tasty!

Awesome Dinner

Chicken Enchiladas:

Cooked Chicken Thighs
2 onions, sliced
1 can of olives, sliced
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup canned enchilada sauce

Saute together, then roll in corn tortillas. Pour 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce into a cake pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Place rolled tortillas, seam-side down, in pan, top with more sauce and a generous sprinkling of cheese, then bake at 400 until hot, bubbly and browned on top.

We served it with rice mixed with black beans, frozen corn and salsa. MMMMMMM!

Inauguration Day

What a thrill, to watch Barack Obama become the 44th president of the US. Our library played the MSNBC live coverage, so we all watched it. The address was amazing.

It was 20 degrees in DC today, which gives me great confidence in the weather when I go two weeks from now! People dealt with the cold to be a part of this historic day.

I am watching Jon Stewart. I have enjoyed his coverage of the election. It was so cool watching him live on election night and now he is covering the inauguration! I love his impression of Bush, and will miss that, but the optimism is palpable.

Aretha Franklin--what is up with that hat? I gotta give her bravery props, but man what a weird hat. What is the deal with senior Bush--completely hobbling into the ceremony. And Cheney, in a wheelchair. So many unanswered questions!

What a great day--so totally ready for the changes yet to come!

The Vagina Monologues meeting this week

Friends, our next meeting for the V-Day 2009 production of The Vagina Monologues will be this Wednesday at 6pm at the ATV office on Pine Street in Red Bluff. Message or respond for more information. We are having our first rehearsal prior to that, as well!

Youth Play Rehearsal

Our youth met for their weekly rehearsal for the new diabetes play this afternoon. They are split into two teams so that when we travel, we won't be taking the same group of kids out of school time and time again. This is being problematic, though as I have not had one full team here for the past 2 rehearsals, just a mix and match of the teams. Today neither of the actors playing one of the main characters was here, but we had two of the hero and two of the narrator in attendance. So frustrating.

I think the most fun part for them in this one is that they get to wear actual costumes in this one. Usually they are playing teenagers, so they wear regular street clothes. Otherwise our uniform is blue jeans and their black long sleeved theatre shirts. This play is a fairy tale, and we have an evil witch villain, a princess, a knight and medieval townspeople. However, this is more challenging for me, having to come up with, for the most part, two sets of medieval costuming. Our two knights are vastly different sizes, and the two mayors of the town are different genders, so it will be a challenge. The two witches and the two princesses are close in size, so that helps as theirs are the most specialized of costumes. Pictured is the princess dress.

A new grant

I submitted a new grant for my program yesterday. It is only$500-$1,000 but it will support our youth theatre program. We are focusing on diabetes education this spring, so we will need to pay for promotional items and other things to make the program even more dynamic. This grant is for obesity prevention, so this tied in perfectly!

Auditions for the Vagina Monologues

The auditions went great--we had some really talented and brave women come to try out. We have built most of the cast list, with just a few roles left, but our make-up auditions are Friday, so that should wrap that up.

The audtions were fairly hard, as the questions were a little personal: What would your vagina wear, what would it say, how familiar are you with your vagina...but everyone handled them with humor and did a really great job.

I look forward to the first read-thru next Wednesday, so that we can hear everyone's take on their character. Can't wait!

Tour via Google Maps

Talk about "stay-cation"--I have recently discovered the Street Level function of Google Maps and took a tour around the US. I started with my own town, because I wanted to see how close to my own house I could get. Turns out I can actually "stand" right in front of my house, look in my car, see my neighbor's houses...a little creepy. I tooled around town, checking out different areas. I spent a lot of time trying to pinpoint when the photos were taken, and decided, considering the banners across main street, fireworks booths being out and the river being full meant that it was in June, and the level of construction on the new Starbucks/Mr. Pickle building and the existence of our now gone van in front of my house, that it is most likely 2007.

Next, I checked out my grandparent's old house in Penngrove CA. They sold it back in 1993, and it is now a Montessori School. I went to New York City and toured Manhattan. I spent a good deal of time checking out Times Square, Rockefeller Center, and the Museum of Natural History building. I also went to Washington DC (in preparation for my real trip next month) and "stood" at the foot of the Washington Monument.

What an inexpensive and fun way to "tour" different places. I was a little bummed that Hawaii is not mapped yet. Soon, I am sure. Google Maps ROCKS!

Stupid but Fun Movie, and V-Day

I watched The House Bunny tonight, which I was all prepared to hate. How insulting, transforming smart and unique women into vapid, playboy bunny wanna-bes, right? But it turns out that everyone learns a valuable lesson about being themselves, plus they look cute...well, it's all in the perception, I guess.

I also met with a group of ladies to watch the movie of The Vagina Monologues. All of us are on the Red Bluff V-Day committee, and most plan to audition and be in the show. It is really great, the number of women interested in being involved in the production. It is for a great organization, Alternatives to Violence, plus it is something that hasn't come to Red Bluff before. It is sure to be an exciting experience!

We ate chicken, mashed potatoes and some wonderful baked goods while laughing along with the movie, then talked about how we envision the show. It was great.

French Bread Pizza

Dinner tonight:

2 large inexpensive french breads, cut in half lengthwise and topped with sliced mozzarella, canned pizza sauce, thick sliced pepperoni, shredded cheddar and a chunky sauce made of chopped tomatoes, sliced garlic, canned artichoke hearts, black olives, dried basil and oil.

So good. I am ready to eat it again!