25. Tiny Tim's Pizza

This is one of our favorite places to go these days. It started with the Adamses below, Chuck and Rhonda on the left and Roy and Maxine on the right. Every Tuesday night the four of them head to Tim's for pizza and sometimes we're graciously included. Tim's is kind of the "Cheers" of our crowd. On the particular evening when I took these pictures, we ran into Tim and Cyndi Maddox. Tim's the principal of the architecture firm where I work. They just got back from their honeymoon in Roma where for some unknown reason they didn't want Bill or me as their tour guide. But I digress.



The pizza at Tim's (we call it Tim's although it's technically "Tiny" Tim's Pizza) is the closest thing to an Italian pizza--thin crust.



Rhonda and I have been playing with our new iPhones whenever we get together. Here, I had just shown Rhonda my new app--the Louvre Museum. Rhonda was positively excited about this app and said at least a dozen times (we know because Maxine and I started to keep count), "Oh, my gosh!"



Last night after work I headed back over to Tim's where I joined Roberta and Robbie and Casey Jones, the City Prosecutor, for a glass of wine. Bill met up with us once his class was over. Tim's is located on the south side of the square and like Cheer's has its "regulars," notwithstanding the Adamses, the Billingsleys, and the Quinns. There's even one character who resembles Otto, the bus driver, on the Simpsons.



Seriously, there's a guy who sits at the bar whenever, I mean whenever, we're there who looks just like Otto from the Simpsons! (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e3/Otto_Simpson.png)

If you're in Fayetteville, drop in for a pizza and a glass of wine at Tim's. You might run into us--all of us!

The Curious Case of Tricia Quinn

Last weekend was Halloween and my 55th birthday. Bill and I had been invited to a wedding reception/costume party, so we had to come up with some costumes. After taking into account the various pieces of clothing already in our closets, we decided that the cheapest thing to do was to go as Hermione and Professor Snape from the Harry Potter books.

So here is the unlikely couple! By the way, I'm wearing a school uniform from Catherine and Billy's grade school. For the record, this is not Catherine's old uniform. She would have never worn a size 14 Girls in grade school!



Our daughter, Catherine, had to dress up to go to work. She went as a cat.





I really like this picture of Catherine and me.



This is the best picture of Bill as Snape and another cute one of our "Cat."



Here are our good friends, Rob and Roberta Billingsley. They had a tailgating party. Roberta and I guess Rob, too, love any occasion when they can dress up.



Here I am with Robbie and Bill.



Bill was having a bad hair day.



The saucy pirate's wench (queen) is about to attack poor Hermione. Snape is oddly amused.



In retaliation I got out my trusty wand and cast a spell over the queen's dagger.



Finally, Harry Potter (Ryan Billingsley) showed up.



Whatever is Bill doing?







As you know from my last blog, apparently I do not appear to be my stated age. However, even I was somewhat shocked when I saw the Halloween pictures of myself. I said to myself, "I look like I did in high school." So I dug up my old senior high school pic to compare it with one taken 38 years later (which was blown-up and hence a little fuzzy--no avert attempt to airbrush fine wrinkles). I think the real secret to growing younger is to resort to a girlie hair style. And because my hair never holds a curl for very long and has a pronounced cowlick, my repertoire of hair styles is extraordinarily limited in scope. Add to that a Catholic school uniform and a white blouse and it becomes pretty hard to avoid that deja-vu experience. My friend, Sharon, has noticed my hair has become darker over the years. That happened in the beginning on its own. I had never put any color on it until my 40s--highlights at first. When the highlights started to take over my hair like a tail wagging the dog I decided that I didn't like that much blond so I just went for straight, albeit semi-permanent not permanent, color. The other noticeable change is that my teeth have separated once again--so much for the braces and retainer! On the plus side, I have learned how to apply makeup over the years. Thank goodness! Of course, time marches on and there's no better reminder of that than sitting in a clinic for an hour getting an infusion of Reclast for old bones. Something that raises another question: if skeletons don't disintegrate over the centuries, why are my bones doing so in just a few short years? Hmmmm...

Birthday buds!

When you're a little kid it's no big deal to share your birthday with friends. After all, grades in elementary school are based on age. But when you grow up (I guess I'm grown up now), it's fun to celebrate the event with others my age who have birthdays within a matter of a few weeks. So, this is a little tribute to my birthday buddies.

First of all, there is my college (Xavier) suitemate, Catherine Bixler Valentine, who has exactly the same birthday as I. Happy Birthday, Catherine!

Then there is Davide Vitali, our Italian friend pictured above on the right. Davide is older than I am by 18 days. He was born on Columbus Day (October 12th) which is easy to remember because that's the Italian equivalent of St. Patrick's Day for Italian Americans. Since he's Italian it makes for a convenient mnemonic device. However, Italians in Italy don't celebrate this holiday so Davide has to remember it all by himself (although I do help out by letting him know once a year that he is older than I am). While on the subject of Columbus Day birthdays, Bill's cousin, Anto, was also born on October 12th. She's a year older than we are. She, too, is Italian (and Welsh). I must also mention that Anto's mother, Bill's Aunt Mary, was born on October 30th. I guess you could say I was born on her birthday.

Then there is Chuck Adams. He is pictured above on the left. Chuck is two days younger than I am. Just as I razz Davide, Chuck razzes me. Chuck's birthday is easy to remember because it's All Saints' Day. Chuck sometimes signs off as Carlo, so it makes me think of San Carlo. Like Bill, Chuck is an English professor (and Associate Dean) and has taught in Roma with Davide. A few weeks ago someone in the Student Union mistook Chuck for Bill. Bill is 3 years and 5 months to the day older than I am. I may be older, but... (tee hee).

This year my friends, Catherine, Davide, Chuck, and I turn 55. The double nickel as my good friend, Bob Baker calls it. There are some entertaining stories that go with this birthday.

Story #1: The other day a vendor came into the office. She, too, was 55 but wasn't blessed with my father's deceptive age genes. She thought Tim (the owner) was about 27 or 28--he's 36. When I asked how old she thought I was she said about 38. Truth is that whenever you ask another woman her age she will automatically lower the age to avoid committing a huge social gaff. So maybe she thought I was really 45 but was afraid to say so. Allowing for social tolerances, that's not so bad.

Story #2: My favorite law at Social Security is the one passed down from British Common Law that says a person is deemed to attain the next age on the day preceding the birthday. Last night we went to see Billy's girlfriend, Sarah, sing in the UA choral concert. While I stayed behind visiting with Sarah's family, Bill and Billy purchased the tickets. Billy came back with a student ticket, and Bill bought me my first-ever senior citizen ticket. Like rank, age has its privileges (I guess). Then Bill offered to take me to Denny's for a senior citizen breakfast. What a dear!

To the Libras and Scorpios turning 55 this year--happy birthday, buon compleanno, tanti auguri--to us!

Ringtones

My birthday present came early this year. It's an iPhone. Over the past few days I've been playing with all the bells and whistles. Well, not all of them. My knowledge of what an iPhone can do is severely limited both by my age and by the fact that I'm the first person in the family to have one.

One of the things I have decided to do on this phone is to install special ringtones, at least for the friends and families who most often phone me. I have up to 30 seconds per tone. Emily, a fellow student in my Revit class, shared with me how to take fragments of songs on my iTunes and crop it for a ringtone.

Finding just the right tone takes some planning. Catherine's was the easiest. Ever since she was a baby Bill's been singing "My Girl" to her. In fact, if there's dancing at her wedding Bill and Catherine will probably dance to that song. I have both the Temptations' and the Mamas and Papas' versions. I chose the latter because it's more melodic.

Billy was a little harder. His song is "Wild Thing" because as a baby we changed the words to: "Wild Bill, you made the milk spill, you made everything sticky." But then I could have also chosen Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" because that's the first song Billy learned to play on the guitar. It seems, however, that the younger Bill took off with the CD and only left the case at our house. Hmmmm. "Wild Thing" it is, by default.

Bill always thinks of "The Mighty Quinn" as his song. I don't have that song on my iTunes, but I do have Robert Goulet singing "If Ever I Would Leave You." While Bill may not think of that as our song, I do. You see, when we first started to date Bill and a bunch of other guys (not together) took me to see "Camelot." I guess it was the date movie in 1973. However, Bill was the only one who sat on our couch and sang it to me before he headed off to New Jersey. Maybe that's why I married him!

As for my boss Tim Maddox, architect and owner of deMx architecture, p.a., I decided to go with the Beatles' "Maxwell's Silver Hammer." I was looking for a building song (I associate hammers with building) and this was better than "If I Had a Hammer." Besides, I have the CD of "Abbey Road."

Roberta and Rhonda, my two pals, are a little harder because I don't associate any particular song with either of them. Since Roberta is the girliest girl I know, I decided on "I Feel Pretty." "Help Me, Rhonda" seems like an excellent choice for Rhonda except that I don't have that tune on iTunes, and I'm too cheap to pay for it.

Two others for whom I might set ringtones are "Some Enchanted Evening" for Robbie because that's his favorite song. For Chuck I could select "I'm Glad I'm Not Young Anymore." I'm sure that choice is puzzling to my readers. That song happened to be on a CD I had borrowed from the library. As Chuck's birthday was approaching, I decided to send him the song as a birthday gag gift. For the record, Chuck is younger than I (by only two days). I rarely receive calls from either Robbie or Chuck, so if I do set ringtones for them by the time I receive a call from either one I probably will have forgotten the connection.

I think for calls from home I'll install "Our House" by Crosby, Still, Nash, and Young, or maybe it's only three of them (Crosby, Still, and Nash?). I don't have that song either, so I guess I'll have to scout around for it.

Individualized ringtones are excellent for people like me who have to put on their reading glasses to see who's phoning.

If you're interested in setting up your own ringtones, follow this link:

Make iPhone Ringtones from MP3 Songs Using iTunes – Video Tutorial

Source: www.labnol.org

As for my ringtone on your phones, I would think something Italian would do nicely. Maybe a little Andrea Bocelli or perhaps Giorgia. Chissa'?

24. Tailgating with the Adamses

Welcome to the Adams' tailgating party.



For my overseas readers, a tailgating party is a gathering to watch American football. Its name is derived from the fact that the table for the party is often the open tailgate of a pickup truck. The Adams' tailgating party is an upscale version of that American icon. And just in case you're not sure if you've reached the proper venue, there are signs that tell you that you are in the right place.



Below is a shot of your typical pickup. Notice the "beverage" cups.



People dress up their vehicles for the occasion. The blue Tracker below is Roberta's car.



This is the venue for all of the Adams' tailgating parties. Their driveway is transformed into a party patio. Sitting in the foreground are Tom and his daughter, Samia. Little Samia is named after our dear friend, Samia Nkrumah, whom we met in Roma in 2005. Joining Tom and Samia is Lucy Ann, the dolly. The three of them are watching the parade of ticket holders walk to the stadium. On the left is a cozy fire pit and beyond that, the food tent.



Here are Robbie Billingsley and Bill setting up the projection screen.



You see, you can never have enough views of the televised football game. Notice that there are two TV sets and the projection below and that all three are carrying the same image!



Greeting us upon our arrival were Chuck's Bloody Marys. Now, there is a friendly rival between Chuck and Robbie as to whose Bloody Mary is better. I was perfectly happy with Chuck's version below.



Rhonda made delicious breakfast burritos, and there was also plenty of coffee to take the chill out of the air.



This is the quintessential view of a tailgating party--fans visiting with each other. Below from left to right are Roberta Billingsley, Rhonda Adams, and Angie Maxwell.



Here are Roy Adams and his son, Chuck, our host.



By my own admission, I am absolutely the worst American football fan. Below, is the best football fan, Roberta. Note: I said I was the worst American football fan. I am an excellent fan of real football (soccer), second only in this group to my husband.



Now this is a real football fan!



Some of the attendees are as interested in the game as I am. Samia has her red Razorback shirt, but enjoyed playing with chalk...



or eating a huge cookie.



Even four-legged creatures, animate and otherwise, enjoy the hoopla. This is Brighton, the Adams' dog, with a Razorback bear.



One of my favorite things about tailgating at the Adams' is watching the fly-over by the big jets at the start of the game. This time I had my camera ready. I guess it's a sign of the recession that the only thing flying over the stadium yesterday was this little plane. By the way, that's the sun up there!



The stadium is only a few blocks away from the Adams' house which creates an interesting phenomenon. You see, when the team does something well, we hear the cheers (and cannons) before the 3-second television delay conveys the image to the viewing audience. So, if you weren't paying attention to the game (like me), once you hear the roar of the crowd you can turn to one of the three television images in the garage to find out what was/is about to happen. I find that to be a bonus because most of American football is waiting for the defense and offense to change places on the field, something they do every 10 seconds or so, at least so it seems. I much prefer getting a heads-up from the stadium audience that I'm about to see something worth watching on TV--it's much more efficient television viewing!

Chuck and Rhonda provide lots of things for their guests to do. Here are Ryan Billingsley and his girlfriend, Jessica, playing a game of skill with balls on a rope. Look at the concentration on Ryan's face!



Ryan's dad, Rob, got into the action next.



Here's an action shot of a ropey-ball thing getting ready to land on the rack. At the foot of the rack is another game, the name of which I will not tell you because it greatly offends our host, where the object of the game is to throw bean bags into the holes.



Here's a shot of Ryan, Roberta, Robbie, and Jessica.



Bill and Robbie went to the game yesterday. Afterward, Bill, Ryan, Robbie, and Chuck threw the football to each other. More action photography.



Meanwhile, Roberta and the girls were doing their line dance.



Shortly after this shot and seven hours later, I went home. I was getting antsy and my introverted self and the drowsiness prompted by the afternoon sunshine had gotten the better of me. However, the Fayetteville experience is incomplete until you have been to a tailgating party--and the best party in town is always given by Rhonda and Chuck Adams. Thanks!

P.S. In case you're interested, Arkansas beat Auburn 44 to 23 yesterday.

23. Bikes, Blues, and Barbecue

Once a year, hordes of motorcycles arrive in Fayetteville as part of the Bikes, Blues, and Barbecue weekend. We have friends who annually leave town when this weekend rolls around because of the din. I find it an annoyingly loud weekend even in our neighborhood. The bikes are like swarms of bees on steroids, buzzing here and there, and not just one at a time, either; the bikers bike in packs.

Here is one shot of the parking along Dickson Street. Nothing but bikes!



Bill and I walked from Carnall Hall on the UA campus to downtown on this particular night. It was a madhouse of congestion.



The Walton Arts Center parking lot was turned into a food court. It sort of reminded us of the Berlin Winterfests, but something was radically different. Hmmm...what do you suppose it could be?

Bill is convinced that there is no greater population of ugly women than biker babes. Yes, I did notice that the girls seemed a little hefty.

Then, there's the Bikers for Jesus group.

Many of the attendees are middle-aged professional people, doctors, lawyers, and dentists who like to don leather chaps once a year and pretend they're James Dean. Of course, since they're middle-aged they don't exactly have Dean's slim profile.



The town is totally transformed during BBB. Only bikes can park on Dickson Street and even the UA bus route is changed for a day. Traffic is horribly congested. But the biggest difference I noticed is the noise level. The bikers love to rev their engines. A year ago we happened to be watching one of Billy's UA soccer games on Razorback Road when the Bikers' Parade went by. It was fun to see all of the bikes and even some of the costumes, but the noise was deafening. Even at our house in the 'burbs you can hear the engines. The next little video might give you some sense as to just why our friends leave town on this weekend.



I will list this as one of the things you should do at least once when you're in Fayetteville. However, a little goes a long way.

The Wedding Reception

Our family album



Grandpa plants a kiss on Grandma!



Bill and his twin sister, Karen, the mother of the bride.



Bill's cousin, Anto, Aunt Mary's daughter.



The Quinn children: Diane, Bill, and Karen.



Aunt Ellen sitting in the garden.



Catherine, her cousin, Kristen, Eric, the groom, Billy, and Sarah.



Michael, the bride's brother, and a darn good flower-person.



Aunt Ellen, Sandy, James, Kristen, Eric, Anto, and Aunt Mary (putting her weight on one foot as instructed by the professional photographer).



Speaking of Aunt Mary, every family needs an aunt like this. She's hilarious, a hoot, the life of the party. Here, she is donning her habit as Sr. Mary.



She started a collection, but no one is sure if she was collecting it for the new couple or for her stay in a nursing home (there's an inside joke there, made by Aunt Mary herself). Incidentally, she and I have the same birthday.



Our beautiful daughter, Catherine!



Sarah, Michael, Kristen, and Eric

Below are a series of pictures of Catherine and her Daddy.







Daddy's are nice, but Catherine was missing Peter, her boyfriend, who was there in spirit.



Bees in wine!



Sarah and Billy



Michael and Sarah



Anto and Aunt Ellen



Myself and Bill's cousin, James, Aunt Mary's son



Michael and Sarah



Kristen and Catherine



Aunt Mary and Dad



Jessica and Karen



Catherine and me



Catherine and Sandy, James' wife



Diane



Mom taking a little rest on the sofa. I just love how her blouse, Sarah's pashmina, and the fabric on the davenport match.



Kristen's bouquet



The wedding cupcakes



A kiss from the couple between bites of wedding cake



In the next series of pictures, you'll see dancing. And of course, dancing always begins with the first dance.



Sarah hates shoes, so they came off. I used to dance like this with my dad when I was a little girl. I thought it was adorable until I remembered that Billy is still technically recovering from ACL surgery. Fortunately, all was well with his knee.



Catherine and Bill really got down to boogie-ing.



OK, this is really a pose. By the time we got around to dancing, Bill's parents were getting ready to head home. Actually, it looks like Bill is using me to prop up his body. Dancing with Catherine must have really worn him out!



I am not a professional photographer (just in case you hadn't noticed by now). However, the filtered sunlight was creating beautiful effects. Here are some of them. These pictures have not been touched up.



Bill's dad with his sister-in-law, Ellen



Billy and Sarah



Have you ever seen more romantic pictures than these? I only wish that I had gotten a picture of Kristen and Eric on this bench.



Three Bill Quinns: father, grandfather, and grandson



The mail box at the site of the reception.



Of course after the party it was time to get back to Greek and Latin.



Catherine got a nap on the flight home.



We had a wonderful visit to New Jersey. Congratulations again to the new couple, Kristen and Eric.