Chris Brandt's Web Log

February 2010 - BNO, Florida

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:40:00 GMT

February 7th - 11th, 2010 We had an extended BNO in Florida this year. Thanks to Jim renting a condo for a month, we took advantage of his hospitality for a few days in what would otherwise be a very wintry cold February. Thank you, Jim!!! His condo is on Key Biscayne in southeast Miami. It just happened that we flew down on Superbowl Sunday, so we first got to see the Colts go down in flames to the Saints. On Monday, we went to Biscayne National Park, but got there too late to catch one of the boat rides. The highlight of the day had to be our dinner at El Carajo. This is a five star restaurant tucked in the back end of a gas station in south Miami. It was fantastic! On Tuesday we went to Haulover Beach and South Beach and had dinner at Versailles, which was a great Cuban restaurant. Wednesday, we finally got that boat ride in Biscayne National Park, which was a lot of fun. We ended up going back to El Carajo for a final special dinner and a final piece of Mango Cheese Cake, before heading back to the frozen North. Great trip . . . . I didn't want to leave. Photos 1 Photos 2 Photos 3 Photos 4

Christmas 2009 - New Year 2010

Sun, 03 Jan 2010 09:36:00 GMT

January 2, 2010: Sharon and Arthur no sooner got back from Chile than they hosted a CNO dinner to ring in the New Year and celebrate a birthday for Janet H. Photos Virginia sent her Christmas pictures to Janet, so I've put them here for sharing and safe keeping. I think it's time for Ivan to check out Hollywood. Photos 1 Photos 2 Photos 3 Photos 4 Photos 5 December 24th & 25th, 2009: We had my family over a Christmas Eve celebration. Everyone brought more appetizers and desserts than we could possibly eat. We put together gift boxes for our soldiers stationed overseas in Iraq. We had a wonderful Christmas day. Patricia and Tessa made a truly wonderful Christmas dinner. I cannot even begin to describe how good it really was. Thank you so much. Photos December 6th, 2009: We hosted a Christmas CNO. Always a good time. Photos

Thanksgiving 2009

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:36:00 GMT

November 26, 2009: HAPPY THANKSGIVING! This year, Joyce hosted the big dinner. As usual, way too much food, but it was all delicious. We got to see Steven's video of his Golf Digest "Ambush" this past summer. Very cool. The article about the event is in the November issue. Thanksgiving Photos

Chicago - Nov 2009

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:09:00 GMT

November 21st and 22nd - CHICAGO: We drove to Chicago to meet Arthur, Sharon, Bill and Marcia. Since this was Bill and Marcia's first visit to Chicago we got to show them around the city. The weather was unbelievably pleasant for the middle of November. We lucked into seeing and riding on the Santa Express Subway on the Red Line. On Sunday, we took the Architectural boat tour and then ate at the Billy Goat, a Chicago landmark. Photos 1 Photos 2 Photos 3 Here are the pictures and movies that Arthur took. His movie of the Santa Express subway is not to be missed. The movies of our Architectural tour on the Chicago River are terrific, too. Arthur's Photos Movie Clips: * From the Top of the Sears (Willis) Tower - 1* 16,717KB * From the Top of the Sears (Willis) Tower - 2* 27,735KB * From the Top of the Sears (Willis) Tower - 3* 23,384KB * From the Top of the Sears (Willis) Tower - 4* 13,290KB * Santa Express subway* 66,946KB * Architectural Tour via the Chicago River - 1* 43,124KB * Architectural Tour via the Chicago River - 2* 219,235KB * Architectural Tour via the Chicago River - 3* 54,285KB * Architectural Tour via the Chicago River - 4* 147,644KB * Architectural Tour via the Chicago River - 5* 58,096KB November 24th: Everyone came over to our house for a light dinner of Creole soup and Amish cake. Entertainment included the latest BNO show and a visit to the Red House. Jane's Sophie was a big hit as usual. And Charles and Tessa made a quick stop, before catching a flight to Delaware to celebrate Thanksgiving with her Mom. Red House Photos NOVEMBER 28, 2009: Arthur and Sharon invited us to join their family at the Kopper Kettle Restaurant in Morristown as kind of a farewell celebration for all their guests. Hard to imagine we could all eat so much, so soon after Thanksgiving ... but we managed. Photos

New York in the Fall of 2009

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:01:00 GMT

October 15th to 19th, NEW YORK CITY: Janet and I flew to New York to visit with family and catch up on the city sites and happenings. Claudia put us up or should I say put up with us, which was really great. She has such a nice place. We got to meet her boyfriend, Scott, and had a very special lunch at the River Cafe which he manages. What a special place! It's right at the base of the Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn Bridge. On Saturday, we visited Suzy and Milton for dinner. Sorry, that Milton is continuing to struggle with severe health issues. On Sunday we got to see my relation, Jane, at the MOMA Bar Room and later we visited with George and met a friend of his, Denny, who was also visiting New York. Make sure you check out George's new cell phone -- a real eye catcher. We, then, made a stop at St. John the Divine and happened upon an magnificent organ recital, which was .... well, divine. Photos 1 Photos 2 * Claudia on guitar* 14,965KB Photos 3 Photos 4 Photos 5 Photos 6 * Claudia and Scott guitar duet 1* 5,349KB * Claudia and Scott guitar duet 2* 18,6679KB * Claudia and Scott guitar duet 3* 31,722KB * Claudia and Scott guitar duet 4* 19,439KB * Claudia and Scott guitar duet 5* 18,416KB Photos 7 Photos 8 Photos 9 Photos 10 * Organ Recital at St. John 1* 10,966KB * Organ Recital at St. John 2* 11,094KB * Organ Recital at St. John 3* 20,468KB Photos 11

Dan Torpey

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:23:00 GMT

SUNDAY; September 27, 2009: We traveled with Arthur and Sharon to the Louisville area to visit Arthur's good friend, Dan. He also took us to Fox Hollow Farm to see where he used to live and see the stone sculptures he helped erect. Supposedly, these stones are located on one of the vortex lines of the earth; however, I checked out the ones on Google Earth which show these stones over thirty miles away from the closest lines. Dan is a teacher and artist specializing in automata and quilting using special recycled materials. Check out his webpage at Barkingdogs Automata I have also posted a few clips of his automata in action. * Automata* 2,906KB * Automata* 3,929KB * Automata* 4,215KB * Automata* 9,455KB * Automata* 3,828KB Then Arthur took us to see a neat historic residential area in Louisville just south of Central Park -- St. James Court. Very nice. Photos 1 Photos 2 Photos 3

Hickory Horned Devil

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 11:35:00 GMT

September 13, 2009: I cut down the walnut tree by the back patio and was burning most of the debris when I saw something, I've never seen before. I thought it was one of Ron's pieces of jewelry, but it was alive! It was a Hickory Horned Devil and next year it will turn into a Regal Moth. Amazing creature. Be sure a check out the picture of the flying wasp and the Horned Devil. I got lucky. Photos Even though it was officially last Friday, we celebrated Jane's birthday as a family this afternoon and evening. Next up ... the thirties! Photos

Claudia's Visit 2009

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 11:30:00 GMT

September 8th to 11th: Claudia came for a nice visit. Janet taught her how to crochet. And we had a hard time keeping her from taking Jane's dog,Sophie, back to Brooklyn. Photos

Labor Day Weekend 2009

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 10:28:00 GMT

September 7, 2009: CNO at Janet and Jim's House. We got to enjoy the new screened porch. Janet made a lovely dinner including grilled salmon and chicken. Photos September 6 2009: SHARON & ARTHUR'S GARDEN PARTY. Celebrating their home and garden, Sharon and Arthur hosted a wonderful end of summer party. The weather cooperated beautifully, having rained all morning. Nice hair, Collin. Photos September 5, 2009: EASTBURN FARM. A few of us gathered at the farm for a Labor Day celebration. Glen said they needed rain for the crops, but I thought generally things looked pretty good. Sally had made great looking hats with a new Eastburn Farm logo on them for everyone. We cooked hamburgers and hotdogs on the charcoal grill. Photos

Chicago - August 2009

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 00:21:00 GMT

August 21-23; Chicago. We went to Chicago to visit some of the sights and visit with Dale and Tina in Highland. Dale and I played golf at Tuckaway G.C. and Palmira (from the Blues) G.C. which was a lot of fun. Great weekend visiting with special friends. Photos