The ABC Life Blog

You know how you have a hankering for something but cannot make it fit into your ABC Life? That’s what happened this month. But luckily we found a way…

New restaurant – BIG RAY’S BBQ IN ALLEN

We headed out to try the pork ribs at Big Ray’s BBQ. It sounded authentic and there were plenty of cars in the lot. Unfortunately, we were disappointed. The food wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t great either. The ribs were fatty, and the glazed carrots surprised us by being served refrigerated. All in all not the best experience but our quest for ribs will not end. Any recommendations?

New movie – ADAM’S RIB

Laura: A few months ago I bought The Essentials: 52 Must-See Movies and Why They Matter by Jeremy ARNOLD. He recommends ADAM’S RIB, a 1949 movie with Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. So, although it’s not a rib you can eat, it was a rib to enjoy. The film has two main storylines. The first is an attempted murder case and the second is the marriage between the two stars, who are both lawyers and married to each other. What makes this movie so essential is its arguments for the equality of both sexes. Katharine Hepburn represents the accused wife and argues for treating her under the same expectations and laws that influence society regarding men. This is really brought home in this movie and since it was back in 1949, it’s very impressive.  The movie also has a lot of humor and great dialogue, reminding me how the old movies definitely relied on banter rather than brawls.

Whenever we have the chance, we like to see old, classic movies that we somehow missed. This month we got the chance to see one.

New movie: ARSENIC AND OLD LACE

In the mood for a totally madcap comedy? This is the one to see. Cary Grant is good at almost anything and this role, which was originally meant for Bob Hope, puts his comedic chops to the test. The plot revolves around his two spinster aunts who put a for rent sign up and, if a lonely man answers the ad, “compassionately” put him out of his loneliness by serving him a drink of elderberry wine laced with arsenic, strychnine and cyanide, then bury him in the cellar. There are a number of other players that add complications and make this an amusing two hours of escapism.

New book: APPLE Pie and ARSENIC

Laura: While arsenic is most commonly paired with “old lace,” author C.A. Phipps paired it with a pastry in her cozy mystery “Apple Pie and Arsenic.” The first in the Maple Lane Mysteries series, this book features a cat-loving bakery owner, a dead body and, of course, our favorite poison. It’s a relatively quick read and hits all the notes that a cozy mystery typically embraces: likeable characters, a female amateur sleuth, small town or village, no graphic violence and rarely any sex. Although I’m a huge fan of mysteries, the cozy kind does not have a strong pull on my reading choices. I prefer a bit more zing and hard edges to my who-done-its. But “Apple Pie and Arsenic” moved along at a decent clip and appears to be well liked by cozy fans. Plus, it has a few easy recipes. Some of C.A. Phipps other titles include “Bagels and Blackmail”, “Cookies and Chaos” and “Doughnuts and Disaster”. She’s up to H with “Honey Cake and Homicide” and I imagine she’ll continue through Z. Gotta love someone who loves the alphabet life!

LEARNING CENTER – ARSENIC

Speaking of arsenic, did you know that water in the Atacama Desert in Argentina naturally contains up to 20 times the arsenic considered safe for humans? Over the course of thousands of years, settlers in the area have developed a resistance to arsenic – which would have come in handy for those lonely old gentlemen!

New activity: Local Theatre Performance of ALMOST MAINE

We enjoy going to the theatre and although we don’t always like what we see, we keep going because we like to support local theatres and there definitely are some gems. On Sunday we went to the Allen Contemporary Theatre to see Almost Maine by John Cariani. Talk about a gem! This play was 9 vignettes about love and loss in a small town called Almost Maine and it was funny and touching and poignant – just so enjoyable. Barb got teary-eyed at a couple of the stories. What’s more, the caliber of acting was very high. It’s too bad it was the last performance but if it ever comes back to a town near you, it’s a highly recommend from us.

New restaurant: ZIO AL’S PIZZERIA

We couldn’t let W, X, Y, Z month go by without at least one representative of  those last 3 letters so we went for lunch to Zio Al’s Pizzeria in Plano. When we pulled up, we were a little uncertain because the place looked so tiny, but we said “why not?” Boy, are looks deceiving. The menu had several pizzas that we had never heard of. We decided to try the Gyro Lovers’ Pizza since we both loved those ingredients.

Wow! It was delicious! Definitely worth a return visit. Maybe for a spinach ricotta?

New documentary: Language A to Z

Needing to finish off the alphabet, we were excited to discover the documentary Language A to Z on Kanopy. It’s a series featuring each letter of the alphabet so obviously we jumped to X, Y and Z (Sorry W, but you’ve had enough play this month). X stood for !XOO which is a “click language” originating in Africa. It has more sounds than any other language on earth, with over 100 different clicks. Y stood for Yiddish which the charming narrator says is a “dying language that is not really dying at all.” He then went on to the letter Z which is more prominent in our language than we ever realized. We love shows that teach us something and this show is chock full of information which is presented in a fun way. We’ll definitely be making our way through the alphabet with him.

Revisiting: WAXAHACHIE

Barbara: I was feeling antsy, and Laura was busy so I grabbed my guy and our friends, Pam and Steve, and revisited the town of Waxahachie. We’ve been to so many places we enjoyed in our ABC Life and are always saying to ourselves “ we have to go back” but somehow never do. My second visit to this town still found it to be a nice place to visit and reinforces my intent to revisit more.

This go round we saw a new mural that I loved because of the inscription on it that said “if I had a flower for every time I thought of you, I could walk in my garden forever.” Would love to know who the artist was thinking about.

We also saw a few hearts that are part of the Hachie Heart Trail. Between the hearts and the murals there is a lot of talent here! The Ellis County Museum had several different items than those I saw the first time there, but I still am fond of the Katz Dept. Store sign as it makes me feel I have Texas roots.

New book: WISHFUL DRINKING

Laura: Carrie Fisher wrote several books, but in her memoir “Wishful Drinking,” she reveals some amazing stories with wit and skill. They include Bob Dylan ringing her up to get her opinion on a name for a cologne he was debating about releasing, Cary Grant becoming her drug counselor and director George Lucas not allowing her to wear a bra in her Star Wars scenes. After all, as George said, “there’s no underwear in space.” Although there are interesting tidbits like those just mentioned, I felt overall that the book wears thin. There’s a desperate quality to it. I was curious as to why “Drinking” was in the title of her book, as it was the least of her problems. She had a much stronger addiction to pills and for a short time, to hallucinogens. She definitely had a strange childhood, with two show biz parents: Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher. Growing up, Carrie felt she didn’t have “a conventional sense of reality”. She suffered from bipolar disorder and had always floated from one extreme mood to another. An undercurrent of sadness rippled through this memoir, and I was a bit depressed reading her story.

Learning Center: Waffles

Since it’s been so cold lately, we’ve been eating a lot of waffles and pancakes to warm up in the mornings But did you know that, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica  “one of Nike’s early successes, the “waffle trainer” was originally conceived by pouring urethane on Nike cofounder Bill Bowerman’s home waffle maker? The appliance was ruined, but the shoes were a hit.” Hmmm…wonder who the person on their team was who dared to suggest that one!

New Series: WILD CARDS

Laura: If you’re looking for something light-hearted with lively banter and interesting story lines, try Wild Cards, a Canadian show launched in 2024. It’s not a deep, thought-provoking show, but it’s entertaining. It focuses on a demoted detective (Giacomo Gianniotti) and a spunky con woman (Vanessa Morgan) who are paired together to solve crimes and redeem themselves in the process. Overall, the premise of this show is highly unrealistic. But if you suspend belief and stop saying to yourself “that would never happen,” then you might enjoy this light, fun, escapist show.

I like it for two main reasons. First, I’m fond of the two main characters. She’s spunky and quick witted and he’s kind of stoic but starts to loosen up as his “partner” wins him over with her charm and wit. Second, I love how the crime is solved in each episode. She gathers clues and solves mysteries in totally unorthodox ways and he doesn’t always follow the rules to the letter. They make a fun pair. Plus, I discovered that the premise of Wild Cards was inspired by the 1982 film 48 Hours, where a renegade cop (Nick Nolte) teams up with a robber (Eddie Murphy) to take down criminals. And each episode of Wild Cards is actually inspired by the plot of various tv shows and/or movies, such as Fast and Furious, Yellowstone, Rear Window and Knives Out to name a few.

New restaurant: Wu Wei Din

Speaking of wild cards or “something whose qualities are uncertain” there were several untried restaurants beginning with the letter “W”, so we put their names in a hat and the wild card winner was Wu Wei Din in Plano. 

What a lucky pick! We were immediately struck by the fact that the place was much larger than it appeared and was PACKED. We looked at what some of the other patrons were eating and settled on pork and shrimp soup dumplings (be sure to dip them in the recommended sauce) and beef flat noodles. The portions were large and delicious (you need to be careful not to burn your mouth with the soup dumplings) and we will definitely be going back.