Annual Honeymoon 2010 in London

Tower of London

Shakespeare's birthplace at Stratford upon Avon

Having afternoon tea at Harrods

Stonehenge

Abbey Road

Last October Jeannette and I went to London on our Annual Honeymoon. It was a wonderful and exciting visit. Our hotel was a short walk from the Tube station in the northern part of central London. It made getting around quite easy. The first day we took a hop-on/hop-off double decker tour bus. It gave us a great view of the city and help us decide where we wanted to get off and see. One day we took a motorcoach tour into the countryside west of London and saw Stonehenge, Bath and Stratford upon Avon where Shakespeare was born. On the last day we ventured out on our own to find Abbey Road. I wrote down the tube, bus and tram connections to get there. In the beginning of the trek, I realized I had lost the directions. So we figured it out and we got there, although by a different route. That afternoon we toured the re-constructed Shakespeare's Globe Theater on the bank of the Thames River. We truly enjoyed taking the Thames river cruise to Greenwich. I loved every moment and would love to go back in a heart beat.

Mike's visit to Austin

Mike drove to Austin last week. He got to visit with 2 of his cousins on Jeannette's side of the family. The picture was taken from Mount Bonnell, the highest point in Austin, overlooking Lake Travis.

They called me "The Dude"

White Christmas

This is the first White Christmas in Dallas since 1926. The snow started falling in the early aftrnoon on Christmas Eve Day. It was very windy day. Jeannette and I got our errands done early and came home to watch the snow fall from in the house. They weren't the big beautiful snow flakes but we were happy with what we got. Mike came over in the morning to open presents. Santa gave Mike a new electric acustic guitar. Mike's old acustic guitar had a broken neck. It also came with a hard case to protect it. He loves it.

"The trouble with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money" - Margaret Thatcher

Happy Mothers Day

Before my mother passed away in 2001, my nephew Bob and his family visited his Grandmother and Jeannette & I. While they were here, Bob bought and planted this rose bush in memory of his Grandmother. Whenever I'm gardening, I think of her and Bob. Thank you Bob.

A Great and Easy Chicken Dish

This is not my recipe but from the Food Channel's "Down Home with the Neelys" program. Not only is this a great tasting dish but it is easy to make because the preperation flows so well.

Get Yo Man Chicken

recipe courtesy of the Neely's

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 chicken thighs, skinless
1 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoons pepper
1 medium onion, sliced
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup white wine
1 (14.5-ounce) can crushed tomatoes in thick puree
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 tablespoon dried rosemary
1 tablespoon lemon-pepper
Hot buttered rice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves


Directions
Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat.

Pat chicken dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken, meat-side down first, and turning once, about 4 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate to reserve.

Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of oil from the pan.

Add onion to the pan and saute until tender, roughly 3 minutes. Add the stock and wine and stir, scrapping any brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Turn heat to high and reduce by half, about 3 minutes. Pour in the crushed tomatoes and add the dried herbs and lemon pepper. Add the chicken thighs back into the pan.Cover and cook on medium-low heat for 40 minutes.

Remove chicken from liquid and serve on hot buttered rice. Ladle the sauce on top and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.