Taking the Cake – Septuagenarian Surprise

We all mark our lives by celebrating and recounting our lifetime milestones. Important dates like first birthday, first words, first steps, first day in school, graduation, first job, weddings, etc. are often given this disitinction.

Our best friends surprised my wife (and me too), by helping us celebrate a very special milestone. Last month my wife became a Septuagenarian. While this may not seem very remarkable nowadays, we feel very blessed and grateful!

My wife likes to celebrate the “Month of My Birth” and so we do just that. This year, however, because of our schedules, the month became six weeks.

One way we celebrate birthdays with our best friends is that we take each other out for dinner at a fine restaurant.

Well…little did we know that when we arrived at their house that there was a big surprise in store for us. While anticipating going for dinner, we walked into the house and stepped into the kitchen to a huge crescendo of “SURPRISE”!

M & L arranged for a wonderful surprise party to mark this very special occasion. It was amazing because nobody in our friendship circle let slip the fact that this shindig was in progress. We were happy and thrilled to see all of our friends and to have them celebrate with us. I could go on and on about the wonderful food, wine, snacks, etc., but what I wanted to make certain to share with JRBrish readers is this…


70th birthday amazing quilt cake

It is hard to believe that this birthday cake is completely edible. My wife is an avid quilter and the baker/artist incorporated the love of quilting into this remarkable confection.

It may be hard to see, but notice the threads around the edges of the cake. The “quilt” on the left is a work of art in itself. The decorator even took care to draw designs on the serving board. It seems that no detail was overlooked.


Don't needle the quilter about turning 70!

Our best friends created a slogan especially for this occasion and it appears on the placard in the upper, right-hand corner; Don’t needle the quilter about turning 70! The customized cocktail napkins were also adorned with the slogan! Wow, 70! This was such a creative and fun party!

Thank you M & L for a most memorable evening and celebratory occasion!

 

Read more miscellaneous stories on JBRish HERE


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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.

©Jeffrey B. Ross 2014 – 2019 — JBRish.com



Kicked to the Curb: A Pony for Christmas

Description: I don’t know if you have looked down at the roads and parking lots when you travel, but there are some very interesting items being discarded in these areas. I decided they were worth recording and perhaps discussing a bit. It seems that our current culture is leaving some interesting finds for future anthropologists.


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We are taking a bit of a detour in our “Kicked to the Curb” series to show something else found in a local parking lot.



It looks like someone is getting a very special Christmas present this year.



I’m thinking that the name Lucky is going to apply to more than just the item in the truck. Wouldn’t every child want a pony for Christmas? And this looks like a very special one indeed!

 
See previous Kicked to the Curb Finds HERE

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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.

©Jeffrey B. Ross – 2018 –


 

Pickleball Video: Dink Disguise for Hard Drive Surprise

Mark Renneson of Third Shot Sports, offers a hint to help catch our opponents off guard.

While watching the video, also notice how Mark uses his whole body to execute the dink. The movement is subtle, but his legs and torso give a motion of “lift” to the paddle/ball.

Another good hint he provides is to use a short back swing to help keep the shot soft.

Sepaking of dinking, here’s another hint. Many players already know this, but just in case…

I hope this helps with some new ways to think about the dink!

 

More Pickleball Videos

To See additional Pickleball Videos Covering Many Aspects of the Game Click Here (primarily for beginners and less experienced players)

Check out Additional Pickleball Info and Videos! (for all players including average to more experienced players)


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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.

©Jeffrey B. Ross – 2017


Something to Think About – Puzzle of Sorts

Here’s a puzzle (of sorts) for JBRish readers.

Preface: We live in N. Phoenix which is near Scottsdale, AZ. This area thrives on the winter vacation and part-time resident crowd and thus there are a multitude of restaurants. We have eaten at our share of the nearby eateries over the years and the last time we visited a local establishment that is popular with the locals and tourists alike, I looked in the dispenser that held the sugar packets and this is what I saw

NOTE – I have removed some of the markings to make this a bit of a challenge.

Have you ever seen one of these? Do you know what it is?



Don’t feel bad, it took me a minute and I had the entire form to look at. Here it is with one more clue added



By now you have probably guessed, so here is the rest of the item as I saw it when I took it from the container.



If you haven’t guessed by now, it is for diners to place their gum on this cardboard to be folded and discarded. Apparently, as confirmed by our waitress, so many people stick their gum under the table that it has created a big problem for staff who have to scrape and clean the bottom of the tables. Who would have thought?!


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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.

©Jeffrey B. Ross – 2017


Surprise Pickleball Falling Behind

NOTE: The article below and accompanying video is being presented on the JBRish blog with permission from the originator, Rocket and the Pickleball Rocks Team. You can check out their website at the link below:

Pickleball Rocks

Thanks to Pickleball Rocks and Rocket!

The Surprise City Pickleball Courts In Danger of Losing Mecca Status

February 14, 2016 by Rocket

When you build a shrine to anything, there comes a certain responsibility.

In the case of the city of Surprise, Arizona, the Surprise City Pickleball Courts, since opening 4 years ago, have become somewhat of a shrine to the sport of pickleball. But the shrine may be crumbling.

The Villages of Florida is considered THE pickleball vacation spot in the country simply because there are so many available courts.

But as we travel the U.S., when you ask people where is the mecca of pickleball, it is overwhelmingly Surprise, Arizona. Everywhere we go, people talk specifically about The City Courts.

As a matter of fact, the Surprise City Courts have become so famous nationwide that most people just refer to them as THE CITY COURTS. When players mention The City Courts, everyone knows they are referring to the 8 courts at 14534 W. Tierra Buena Lane next to Dreamcatcher Park.

There is Yankee Stadium for baseball, Pebble Beach for golf and The City Courts for Pickleball.

But sadly, The City Courts are now so overcrowded that it is starting to become a negative.

It is hard to believe that the city of Surprise isn’t falling over themselves to expand that facility in order to maintain their brilliant, pickleball-tourist attracting reputation.

These courts are packed with people waiting to play. At just about any time, you can catch some of the best pickleball players in the world, including National Champions, Gigi LeMaster, Steve Wong, Mark Friedenburg, Scott Lennan and others, mixing in with men and women brand new to the sport. It is a wonderful experience that has become famous throughout the sport of pickleball and its two million plus players.

It is (or was) truly THE place to play pickleball when you travel to Arizona.

It is interesting to watch the surrounding communities now building pickleball courts at breakneck speed in order to capitalize on the mega growth the sport of pickleball is currently experiencing.

Hope the City of Surprise realizes it before it’s too late. Sadly, based on what we’ve seen, the mecca will soon be moving.

Just our observation,

Rocket and the Pickleball Rocks Team