I continued to work on setting up my new computer yesterday in the morning. I was able to add the device to my Norton anti-virus subscription. I was afraid I would have to start a new subscription even though the old one has a couple of months left. I called the Norton support number, but they were no help. English was obviously a second language for the support person and I could only catch about every third word he spoke.

I went back to the Norton site and after clicking around, I found that I had the ability to add another device to my current license at no cost. Bingo! Now I have to buy and load Microsoft Office and Photoshop. I’m undecided on how to go about doing that. The new PC doesn’t have a DVD reader, so it seems I’ll have to download the programs. They’re big downloads, meaning they’ll really eat up my data plan. I’m looking for an alternative way to do it.

We headed out at 11am. I scootered Donna over to the Hertz car rental agency on McKellips. She wanted a car to drive to her hair appointment with our friend, Jodi Hall, at Total Bliss in Gilbert. Donna didn’t want to ride the scooter to the salon and show up with “helmet head.”

While Donna was getting her hair done, I drove over to Costco, about a mile away from the salon, and bought a few items. I grabbed lunch while I was out at a Mexican place by the salon. I asked about the burrito supreme on the menu. They said it was beef, beans and cheese with pico de gallo and sour cream on the side. I went for it. Bad choice for me. They neglected to mention the fact that it was also loaded with onions and peppers – overloaded in fact.

I picked up Donna at 1:30pm and we drove to the Harkins Theater at Superstition Springs. We watched American Sniper. It was one of the best movies I’ve seen in quite a while. Powerful story and it moves along so smoothly I could hardly believe 132 minutes had passed. I had a bag of popcorn and a large Coke during the movie. I rarely drink Coke or any other soft drink.

From the theater, we drove directly to the Handlebar Pub in Apache Junction. It was Andy King’s birthday. I went to school in San Diego with Andy King and we’ve been friends since our junior high days. He was at the Handlebar performing Bluegrass music with The String ‘Em Up Band. Andy plays the dobro (resonator guitar).

String ‘Em Up Band (that’s Andy in the back)

The place was packed. We had three tables pushed together in front of the band with about 10 people. I had a nice local milk stout and a couple of IPAs with a plate of wings and potato skins. Not the healthiest food day for me. Donna stayed sensible and had grilled salmon and veggies.

Donna with Sandy and Lana in the background

The music was good and we had a fun time. Our friends and former neighbor, Lana, and her fiance, Joel, joined us there. We cut out early, during the second set. I’d been sitting all afternoon at the theater and then at the pub. I needed to stretch a bit.

At bedtime, I paid the price for the large Coke and food choices. I had a hard time getting to sleep, then I slept fitfully. I woke up several times with heartburn. I’m dragging a bit this morning.

Speaking of food, I have a couple of food photos to share. I couldn’t post them earlier with all of the laptop woes. The first is a cauliflower cheese chowder with bacon that Donna prepared last weekend. It was absolutely delicious and much healthier than it sounds.

Cauliflower cheese chowder

The other dish was a banana pancake breakfast plate with almond butter. The only ingredients are mashed bananas and egg. So good! (Note from Donna: Just mash one banana and one egg per person to make 2-3 pancakes. I used coconut oil to coat a nonstick pan. Top with nut butter and fresh berries, chopped walnuts and maple syrup, whipped cream or whatever you like on regular pancakes. You can also add chocolate chips or blueberries to the batter.)

Banana pancakes with almond butter

It’s blustery this morning, but today promises to be another fine weather day with temperatures near 70. This weekend will warm up to the upper 70s, maybe 80 degrees. I have a few projects I should attend to, but I may go bicycling instead!