Samma’s blog

My baby decided to blow his dive business profits on me (he got some cash for inspecting SCUBA tanks) and we went to the Atlanta Fish Market for dinner. 

It's pretty good seafood, though the dining room is a bit loud.  But the real draw is the HUGE leaping copper salmon sculpture out front. 

So I decided to wear the sweater tank top Lisa knit me for my birthday. 

Talk about convenie .....

I found a restaurant review for a Japanese place about 3 miles from our house, and it described something I was sure were NORI POCKETS!  Richard says ... guess I know where we're going for supper tomorrow night. 

Yup!  One is Salmon Flakes, the other is Spicy Cod Roe, but both are NORI POCKETS!  $2 & $3 each.  We also had gyoza with frilly lace patterns around the fried bottom edge.  Hard to see in this picture but lovely. 

Richard had Ten-Don, and we also shared yellow tail sashimi.  Definately could taste the difference in the rice, but it also did not seem like they used much vinegar. 

 

The waitress was already staring because I was taking this picture.  But when Richard took this one (yuppers, stolen from his vox ;D ) she called her friend over to watch.  The Victory fingers really cracked them up. 

Hashiguchi Jr. Japanese Restaurant

While waiting for a table at Shoney’s yesterday (Price, party of 24!) Bella, Richard, her cousin Josh and I were in front of the toy-grab arcade game when Bella found a penny.  It was approximately 11:15am. 

Bella: Find a penny, pick it up, all day long you’ll have good luck!

Samma: Thanks! You should keep it so that YOU can have the good luck. Besides, it’s sticky. 

Bella: Ewww!  YOU keep it.

Samma: It’s so sticky, I bet it will stick to Richard’s head. 

Richard: 

Samma: STICK.

::::time passes::::

Bella: It’s still there! I’m going to set my stop-watch and see how long it stays. 

::::time passes::::

Bella: It’s been 5 minutes, 28 seconds.

::::time passes::::

Bella: It’s been 9 minutes!

Josh: You don’t have to keep calling out every minute you know. 

Bella: I bet this is a World Record!  You should keep it on to see how long it will stay. 

::::time passes::::

Bella: It’s been 45 minutes!

::::time passes::::

Samma: We have to drive back to Atlanta now.  We’ll let you know when the penny comes off Richard’s head. 

::::hugs, kisses, good-byes::::

 

And on the road, Richard met many interesting people.  Or perhaps, many people met one interesting Richard, with a Penny on his head! 

In the time we left Greensboro, Richard-with-a-penny-on-his-head:

1) Got gas and drinks (some looks, but no comments)

2) Went through a Furniture Outlet mall (Dude!  You’ve got a penny on your head!)

3) Viewed Nantahalla Gorge

4) Bought snacks (Did you know you had a penny stuck on your head?)

5) Got gas (no comments)

6) Ate dinner at a really awesome Indian place (pardon me, sir, but why do you have a penny on your head?)

 

After calls from Lisa & Bella, D.O.D. and Ellenor, who caught me laughing so hard I could hardly answer the phone, Richard settled in to read his Lonely Planet Japan book. 

An official time count isn’t possible but Richard reports the penny was still on his head when he woke up at 1a, but when he woke up again at 3a it was gone. 

 

I never posted a REAL picture of my actual RAV4, so today's snow storm seemed a good opportunity.  Ain't it pretty?  And check out the SNOW!  It's coming down like crazy, and Richard says it's doing the same at our house, so the drive home should be fun.  But speaking of pictures, check out how incredibly similar it is to the pics I did post! Behold, the power of Google Image Search!  

I would be jealous of my guy getting a new grillfriend, but fortunately, he likes to share!

I liked Mom's Thanksgiving shiner so much, I decided to grow my own.  With a little help from Paco's Claws of DOOOOOOOOOOOM, of course. 

Cheaper than wrestling alligators, though!

There have been a few i$$ues with the Camry over the 2 1/2 years I've been driving it.  And recently, both the brakes and the fuel system had issues, leading to not passing smog registration.  Critical juncture was over $1,000 in repairs, or something 'new'. 

This (and the rest) of the pictures are exactly what it looks like, but not the one I bought.  It's a 2000 Toyota Rav4, 2wd, and only has 45,270 miles on it.  Based on the car history, looks like a single owner in Tampa, Fl.  And based on the stuff that got cleaned up in the post sale detailing, it was a family w/ at least one small kid.  But the point is, they didn't drive it a whole lot, and it's in GREAT shape! 

Got a fun Halloween pic from Kath. 

Sofina in Dalmatian togs

Paco is looking for a good place to stow away for our St. John vacation!

Tomorrow, Richard and I are heading out for a combined birthday trip (his is Nov 30) camping & diving in Cinnamon Bay, St. John, US Virgin Islands.  Hopefully Richard or I, or both, will have fun pics to share with you when we return. 

 

Had a work trip, so I pegged it to a weekend and Richard flew standby to join me.  We both got bumped to first class, and got a random stranger to swap seats, so we got to sit together. 

 

Got to our Priceline $150/nite 3*** hotel after a brisk walk from Penn Station in the rain.  Good thing we were OK for Early Check In! 

We decided to hit the streets, and found ourselves at the Broadway 1/2price ticket window.  A matinee for Legally Blonde was available and close walking distance, so we got tickets and enjoyed the show.  Take-away song for me was the opening number "OhmyGawd".  The whole thing is popfluff feminist, but cute and fun. 

 

Later that night, we decided to spiff it up a bit and enjoy a good meal.  NYC means everything you can imagine is possible.  We opted for French Bistro and found a nice place uptown by reading through reviews in a magazine from our hotel room called Brasserie 52.  I had the lambchop special, Richard had the coq ah vin which was amazing.  We went with salad, appetizer, and a lovely dessert of lemon sorbet for Richard, creme brulee to DIE for for me.  Which meant we needed a LONG walk back to the hotel! 

 

Next AM, we kept the French theme going with breakfast of the absolute best croissants and endive quiche ever at Patisserie Claude (recommended by my favorite food blogger).  Been there twice now, and I've decided it's 'my' New York essential.  Then we roamed the subways and the streets, happened upon this awesome building which turned out to be a New York Public Library. 

Also found a really great little market, and went inside to dream of the kind of meals we could make if we lived here, and had a sweet little flat. 

We spent the rest of Sunday roaming around Central Park, which neither of us had really ever done.  It's pretty incredible to see this big, beautiful park filled with clearly old and happy trees, growning in the midst of this massive city.  Lest you think all my pics from the trip are of Richard & I, here are a smattering of other pictures I liked.  More in the photo library. 

and other favorites: