New activity: Performance by HavanaNRG (NEW RHYTHM GENERATION)
Barbara: Once again, I am reminded why I love the “ABC Life.” I could have stayed at home watching Netflix but instead, I headed over to the Allen Public Library to watch a performance by Havana NRG, a band from Cuba. They were FANTASTIC. The music performed was high energy, the singers were good and man, they can dance. They had much of the audience standing at their seats or in the aisles, dancing along to the beat and even this gal got up and did some moves. (But definitely not quitting my day job.)
LEARNING CENTER
While we’re in Cuba….
Can you guess what Cuba’s most valuable export is? No, all you dessert lovers, it’s not sugar nor is it tobacco. We learned that Cuba leases about 50,000 doctors to dozens of foreign nations each year. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, this program brings in billions each year to the Cuban government, making medical services their most valuable export.
To start off our “N” month, we decided to try food from Nepal. A nearby Himalyan restaurant – Everest Indian-Himalayan Restaurant and Bar – served a dish called Chicken Lollipop! Well obviously that piqued our interest. But it wasn’t meant to be since the menu stated it had “spicy” flavorings. Spicy is not our thing, which is why we don’t often (like hardly ever) have Indian food. So we selected a Naan appetizer and a main entree of Chicken Momo, which the sweet waitress told us was the least spicy chicken selection. These were yummy dumplings. Its accompanying red sauce was barely touched -we couldn’t eat because of the “heat.” The naan too had a delicious flavor but one bite was all we could tolerate. The heat was overpowering!
Why can some people tolerate spicy, even super spicy, yet these sisters are wimps in the spice test? Turns out that spicy foods contain a chemical called capsaicin, which triggers a receptor in your mouth and on your tongue called a TRPV1 receptor. The sensitivity of these receptors vary from person to person. Plus, the more you eat spicy foods and the earlier you start, the better tolerance you have. Since our mom’s idea of spices was salt and pepper, we’d have no chance of making it in Nepal!
New films: Himalaya and Even When I Fall
Barbara: Since we were “in Nepal” I decided to watch a Nepali film. Unfortunately, I didn’t care for either one of the two films. I was particularly hoping to like Himalaya since it had been an Oscar nominated film, but it just wasn’t my “cup of chai.”
Barbara: My almost-but-not-quite-husband, A.D., is a pilot so he’s always asking me if I want to go to his monthly aviation group meeting (just to be polite) and I’m always declining (being not so polite), but this time I decided to attend due to the speaker.
Ann Pellegreno is the first woman aviator to complete the around the world flight path that Amelia Earhart was attempting before she disappeared somewhere in the Pacific Ocean near Howland Island. And let me tell you, this 86-year-old woman may be diminutive in size, but her mind was sharp as a tack. She gave a slide show presentation of her journey and remembered everything about the plane, the parts, the functions, the path – everything. When she met Amelia’s sister at the end of her journey, it was very touching for her. The thing that really struck me was the similarity in their journeys at a crucial point. Amelia was unable to see the tiny Howland Island where she was supposed to land at, not knowing she was only 10 miles away; that was the last time she was seen. When Ann got to where Howland Island should be she almost didn’t find it either due to the weather conditions so history could have repeated itself. Luckily, she finally did and was able to land there and then complete the journey. Bravo Ann!
We couldn’t let the month of Mexican Independence go by without sampling a couple of things Mexican.
New restaurant: MEXI-GO
We started out our day with lunch at Mexi-Go Restaurant in Allen. It has an interesting back story: one of the owners, Jose, had been frequenting an ice cream parlor and found that it was closing its doors but the owners gave him the opportunity of a lifetime and helped him convert it into a Mexican restaurant of his own. After some creative hustling to get customers, the place took off. It was intended as a takeout place (thus the Mexi-GO) but morphed into a sit down restaurant. Barb didn’t go wild over the chips (which she considered a blessing since she usually can down a whole basket) but we enjoyed our food choices very much and will be back.
New activity: MEXICAN ART EXHIBIT at the DMA
Abraham Ángel: Between Wonder and Seduction
This was the second art exhibit we’ve seen that showcased a young, talented artist whose career was cut short by a very early death. Ángel was one of the leading artists of his generation yet he produced just 24 paintings before his sudden death at the age of 19. From the description at the museum: “one of Mexico’s first known queer artists, he found belonging in the capital’s rich avant-garde artistic scene.” There are many different theories on his death, and in fact we had one as well, based on a picture displayed there.
When he was just 16, Ángel met the painter Adolfo Best Maugard who was teaching a new drawing method. He believed that by learning to combine seven basic design elements – spiral, circle, half circle, s shape, zigzag, wavy line and straight line, anyone could learn to create compelling works of art. The picture below shows one of his works that came out of this drawing method.
At the end of the exhibit was a room with cards in it that asked people to draw something using the shapes of Maugard’s method. Barb couldn’t resist; it was fun but as you can see she would have been kicked out of Maugard’s studio!
A lot of the time we will go to a movie and the ads start coming on the screen. Many times, we sit through an elaborate advertisement and then question how it even relates to the product they are advertising. So, we started wondering how products got their motto or tag line.
U.S. Postal Service: Surprisingly, the U.S. Postal Service has no official motto. The famous “neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night” line was written about Persian mail carriers almost 2500 years ago.
Nike: “Just Do It” – This slogan was created by Dan Wieden of the ad agency Wieden+Kennedy in the 1980s. It works as a motivational catch phrase for athletes but it actually came from the last words of a convicted murderer awaiting execution by firing squad! Good example of how you never know where your next good idea will come from.
Yellow Pages: “Let Your Fingers Do the Walking” – We read that before the Yellow Pages were developed, people had to walk from shop to shop to see what services they provided. After those big yellow books came out one could “walk” to the shops using one’s fingers. Of course now, everything is online so maybe the motto should be “let your mouse do the surfing.”
M&Ms: “Melt in Your Mouth, Not in Your Hand” – This motto is another example of one that still works well. The not melting is explained by the special sugar coating that prevents them from melting in your hand but the motto also lets you know in advance that these little yummy nuggets are so good they won’t last long enough in your hand to melt anyway.
LEARNING CENTER: MONOPOLY
Lately we’ve been reminiscing about our childhood at least once a week. There are always things that one of us remembers and the other has forgotten about but the one thing we’ll ALWAYS remember is the fun we had (and still have) playing games. And one of those games is Monopoly. We were reminded about this when we came across this fact: The winner of the Monopoly World Championship receives $20,580—the same amount as the Monopoly money that comes with the board game. We didn’t even know that there was a World Championship so Barbara decided to watch a documentary, “Under the Boardwalk: The Monopoly Story.”
Barbara: I was surprised at all that I learned. Some quotes from Monopoly lovers are “It’s the most dynamic game in the world”, “It’s the only game where you can bankrupt your friends and they will still be your friends”, “It brings out the very best in people and the very worst.” One theme that went through the film was how playing Monopoly was a time when families and friends got together, talked, and laughed, etc. People really connected. Someone questioned that with social media everyone has a ton of connections but are they really connected to anyone? Everyone agreed it brought back the best memories of family and childhood. Over 40 countries have national championships and then come together for the world championship. There were so many facts that I can’t list them all but I highly recommend the film (free on Prime) to anyone who has played or still wants to play.
Marble art is a newfound experience for us but one we totally enjoyed at Dallas Silk Art at Grandscape in The Colony. It’s almost a foolproof art form! Every pattern will be interesting, and you pick up to six colors of your choice – and then let your creative side take charge! Marble art is an ancient art form, dating back to the 1100’s in either Turkey or Persia, but obviously the Dallas Silk Art studio offers a modern day setting and materials.
The idea behind the art is that you float paints on an aqueous surface and then perform a few moves (raking, curling, etc.). Soon you’ve created your very own design, which gets transferred onto the product of your choice.
Barbara chose a hat and Laura opted for an 8.5” x 11” canvas with frame. We had a great time and would love to return with a group. Hmm…with Halloween coming, we’re pretty sure they’ll have pumpkins, skulls and more to design!
And while we’re talking about floating substances…
LEARNING CENTER – MOLASSES
Did you know that in 1919 a massive storage tank of molasses collapsed in Boston. Two million gallons of the sticky syrup formed waves 40 feet tall that traveled up to 35 miles per hour. Several city blocks were destroyed.
Gotta love the information one can find in the Encyclopedia Britannica!
Since creating the ABC Life Blog, we have found so many interesting things to do or learn about from our local library and libraries in other cities. The Allen Public Library, in particular, is a great source of new experiences and the presentation from the Crime Scene Investigation unit of Allen was no exception.
Of course, the first thing we thought about before the presentation started was wouldn’t this be a great session for a prospective murderer to sit in on and we wondered which person in the room that would be. (We had our eyes on the man in front of us).
The two young women who were in the CSI unit were very informative and gave a great talk. They started it off with an hysterical short video of a squirrel that “staged its own murder” by taking a broomstick and lying down while placing it across his neck. Then they got down to a serious presentation and we learned so much: e.g. even if you go to the trouble of burning off your fingerprints, they can get them from the rest of your hand, even if you clean bloody prints off your car with bleach the prints will show up when sprayed, and it can take 6 mos. to 2 years to get the DNA results back! Plus, there’s something called the CSI Effect which refers to the fact that jurors can be influenced by those CSI shows and will even occasionally rule someone innocent just because there is no forensic evidence. Really a great little class; now we’re off to watch some CSI episodes and see if they show forensics coming back much faster than in reality.
We both have a thing for words so when we spotted an ad for Mellow Mushroom Pizza, we were intrigued. Just saying “Mellow Mushroom” puts us in a good mood. So off we went to McKinney for a slice or two. This place is huge – floor space, menu (including lots of gluten-free items) and drink selections. We tried the Kosmic Karma pizza and enjoyed it, but it didn’t grab a top spot in our best pizza list. But the real attraction here is the artwork and watching the cook hand toss those pizzas. Founded in 1974 in Atlanta Georgia, with a huge concentration of restaurants in the Southeast, they have always had friends and local artists painting psychedelic and illustrative murals in trade for pizza and beer. All in all, a mellow lunch experience.
New Restaurant: MONSTER YOGURT
Having recently enjoyed the discovery of delicious yogurt at Purple Kiwi, we couldn’t resist trying out the serve yourself Monster Yogurt where “scary tastes good.” We both went for the Classic Chocolate with a small dollop of another flavor to sample. Although they offer many different toppings and sauces, we kept it pure. The yoghurt was very good and reasonably priced. The Richardson location is a great place to bring children, with its fun decor and indoor playground. Parents and grandparents with young kids should check this place out!
LEARNING CENTER – MRS.
We’ve all filled out endless forms that ask us to choose Mr., Miss, Mrs. or Ms. as a choice of salutation. It’s annoying that female choices denote their marital status and men have only one choice. They actually did have two terms from the late 1800s till the mid-20th century; the term Master was used to indicate he was single. That is why Alfred called Batman Master Wayne, not because he was Alfred’s master.
But here’s a fun fact: The abbreviation Mrs. contains an r because it originally stood for “mistress”—long before “mistress” became used primarily in descriptions of extramarital affairs.
Barbara: Laura and I have been to an immersive art exhibit and I have also been to an Escape Room but neither of us has been to somewhat of a combination of both. Unfortunately, Laura couldn’t make it, but I was lucky to be able to grab our friend, Kathy, and go to Meow Wolf in Grapevine.
This art experience was unlike any others I’ve been to. I can’t get over the talent it took to not only design the interweaving rooms but to create the unusual artworks within them. I mean, would you normally ever walk into a refrigerator and close the door behind you?! I wasn’t too good at figuring out the story, but we spent two fun hours walking through, reading everything that the creators left around to fill out the story and just taking it all in.
To complement our experience, we stopped off for MONKEYS AND MARGUERITAS at the Rainbow Forest restaurant. Definitely am looking forward (a few years) to taking my granddaughter to lunch there.
Barbara hasn’t been in many years and Laura has never been so we decided to visit the George W. Bush Presidential Center. Laura went into the day thinking it was going to be a small, sort of boring museum but was very impressed as was Barbara on her first visit. This is a very well planned out museum with exhibits, films, hands on areas and a replica of the Oval Office. The docents were very informative; the woman working in the Oval Office had stories about nearly everything in the room. The only downside to the day was that it made both of us a little sad that the climate of the country and the lack of dignity in politics for at least the last 8 years was so far removed to what we were viewing.
New coffee shop: LEMMA LATTE
To get us back in a good mood we tried a new coffee shop called Lemma Latte in downtown Plano. It was in the location of XOXO Coffee that we had gone to many years ago (of course for the letter X) and they offered many different variations on latte. Laura tried the more conventional Lemma Latte and Barbara tried the CitrusGoth Latte which was charcoal, chocolate and citrus (because she’s such a goth person…not). The Lemma Latte was very good. At first taste the CitrusGoth tasted like an iced melted glass of charcoal but after several swallows it was almost likeable by the time she finished.
LIBRARY LOVE
Laura: Barbara and I love the library! On any given day, you would find at least a few library books in our homes. And what’s not to love? Free books, chances to step out of your reading comfort zone, special events and new discoveries all the time! But one thing we wouldn’t love – finding a body in the library. Not that we ever have (thank goodness) but writers seem to love the concept. So, I just had to read a book and watch a tv show about just such a thing. My show was one of the Miss Marple tv series and the episode was called “The Body in the Library.” The book was “Murder in the Library” by Katie Gayle. An unexpected murder was revealed when I was watching the first episode of Season 2 of the Britbox show “Lewis.” The title of that episode had nothing to do with libraries but lo and behold that’s where the body was found and someone actually announced, “there’s a body in the library!”
New experiences keep your life fresh and interesting – a constant stream of discoveries. So the sisters are having fun with the ABC Life – an orderly way to expand our lives with fun places to visit and fascinating things to do, read, eat and experience. The ABC Life is where you do as many things within a month that you can – starting with a specific letter.
The ABC Life Blog 