Valentine's Day, Dinner in Waco, One More Astro Shot

VALENTINE'S DAY

We were invited, this year, to a Valentine's banquet, which featured a "Not-so-newlywed Game." It was held in the fellowship room at church, and hosted by Cindy and Buddy, and Lori and Glenn. Couples dropped their names in a bucket upon arriving, for a chance at being a contestant in the game, and Dan and I were one of the four couples selected!

Buddy played the part of the gameshow host, dressed in outrageous '70s attire (toupee and all!). Here's a photo of the host of the original Newlywed Game, Bob Eubanks, and our own decked-out host, Buddy.

   

At the end of the rounds, Dan and I were tied with another couple. After two tie-breaker questions, we were still tied. To break the tie, a point was given for the couple married the longest. The other couple had been married 54 years, while we were only at 53. We lost, but since the prize wasn't an all-expense paid vacation to the South Pacific (or anything like that), we weren't too sad.

DINNER IN WACO

Last Thursday we drove to Waco to have dinner. Thursday is, traditionally, our "date night," but we often just grab a quick bite somewhere close to home. Last week we decided to get out of town and try an Italian restaurant that Dan had discovered on-line, called Portofino's. We were pleasantly surprised. It was a very nice place to eat, right downtown, on Austin Street, across from the historic Hippodrome Theatre.

Right next to the theatre is the Green Door Lofts (Magnolia Lofts). The classy renovation of these lofts was featured on Chip and Joanna Gaines' Fixer Upper show. What caught my eye was the beautiful, namesake green door.

ONE MORE ASTRO SHOT

Monday night Dan and I were able to take one more astro shot from our backyard. This is known as the Great Orion Nebula. This nebula can be found (sometimes with the unaided eye) just below and to the left of the belt of three stars in the constellation Orion. To the naked eye, it appears as a small glowing "smudge." We had imaged the Great Orion Nebula once before, but hadn't gotten the focus right. This time, we were happier with the outcome.