Spectacular Weather

Years ago, I remember visiting my parents' in Delray over Winter Break.  They started out getting the Herald, but my Dad switched to the Sun Sentinel, for more local (to South Palm Beach) news.  Back then, the Herald had the excellent Tropic Sunday magazine, while the Sun Sentinel had the crappy "Parade."  Well, Parade is still around, while Tropic is long gone.

Anyway, I remember one puff Parade piece -- the top locations for weather all year.  It was a guide for Americans wanting to get the finest weather depending on city.  January was, and I remember the copy "Not surprisingly, Miami, Florida."  And so it is.  It's spectacular this time of year.

Last night Wifey and I went with long time friends Jeff and Lili for dinner at the Falls, at a place called Los Ranchos, which is Spanish for "The Ranchos."  It's a Nicaraguan place, owned by the Somoza family (really) and last year it moved from its long time spot at the outdoor mall to newer, nicer digs.  Wifey and I shared a seafood parrillada (Wifey told the waiter she wanted a Paradaba) and Jeff and Lili had churasscos, their signature dish.

We then saw "The Post," the new Spielberg flick about Katherine Graham and Ben Bradley.  Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks were fine -- the movie dragged a bit, and sure enough there was a John Williams score that soared at points of "high drama." Eh. 2.5 stars...

We came home, and the temperatures were dropping, and during the night, reached optimal sleeping levels -- the high 50s.  I fell asleep to a cool breeze across the bed.  Wifey came up later and closed the window.  She doesn't like the cold...

This am the day broke almost comically gorgeous.  I fed the dogs and read the Herald outside on the front loggio, which the fellow who build our house, Richard, told me Villa style porches are called.  Poor Richard.  Yesterday was 4th anniversary of his unspeakable tragedy.  His ex wife Jennifer killed their two teens and then herself.  Richard has somehow carried on -- he raises money now for his late kids' arts school in West Palm.

I recently posted on his FaceBook page about how much my family has appreciated the house he built.  He wrote me back that that meant a lot to him...

Anyway, the dogs happily chased lizards while I savored the morning.  Wifey came down, and I made us an omelette to share, and then we walked the 1.1 mile loop around our 'hood.  We ran into Mia, the Pinecrest mayor's wife, and her daughter, a freshman at Villanova, near Philly. They had their two Spaniels in tow,  I took photos of the Cavalier meet up and sent them to the Ds.

We're leaving soon to visit the ancient suegra.  I'll offer to take her to the cemetery to visit my father in law, but she'll probably decline.  Moving anywhere is quite a chore for her these days.

After that, Wifey and I will head to Beaux Arts Festival at UM.  We go each year -- it's a delightful event, and the fact that it takes place on the Miami campus, holy ground for me, makes it that much better.

Yes --these are the best weather days there are.  And we enjoy them immensely.