That Time of the Season...

Big Hello from the N. Pole

2016 flew by so fast I swear there was a sonic boom, and here we are at the closing of another year.  Part of that closing is the Saturnalia celebration co-opted by lion fearing christians as the birthday of a fellow, who if actually born, would have been born either in late fall or around March sometime depending on who you believe.  I am good with that however, for two reasons in particular the first being it's an excuse to get the family together in a non-snit environment and attempt to enjoy each others company.  The second reason is that I get to drag out the old red suit and give a few kids a bit of a thrill as Santa - hey I have the perfect physique for the job, though the flowing white hair and curly beard once adorned the back of a yak.  I hope they just sheared the yak and didn't terminate the poor beast so I could once again have hair and a beard that didn't make me look like I live under a freeway over pass.

Huskies do not come to Santa, Santa comes to huskies.

Got to play Santa three times this year for my wife's school and enjoyed every minute, from the looks of awe to the teenagers giving me  "bunny ears" behind my back and telling the little girl I can't bring her a live puppy because international treaties prohibit me form bring live animals across borders (much to the relief of the parents listening in.).  I always try to get them to settle for a cute stuffed toy puppy, but it never seems to placate the desire for a husky pup, after all they did ask for a dog, and huskies are the kings/queens of the dog world, right?

The look of awe form the young ones is like a drug that warms my heart and makes this holiday one of the best of the bunch, and a child running up and hugging me really makes brings tears to these old eyes.  Making folks, family or otherwise, happy is what it is all about from my point of view - not happy with chinese made piece of crap wrapped in fancy paper, but the giving of love - the food doesn't hurt either.

Santa getting his Rave on.

Note to parents - do NOT force your kid to sit on Santa's lap if the child does not wish to - I refuse to be responsible for scarring a kid for life, let's leave that to clowns.

Pleasantly Disappointed

After leaving the local    movie theater, I noticed a new shop coming in across the way – “PT NOODLES,” and I became very excited as it was about time we got a ramen joint on the far west side and the fact it was close to the house was  a big bonus. The other day I noted that the restaurant was open and determined I would try it out for lunch, the thought of a bowl of steaming ramen with fresh made boodles dancing through my head, I could hardly wait, but lunch time did arrive.

 

I walked through the door was led to a seat in the spacious and well decorated dining room., given a beautifully designed menu and realized at that point I wasn’t going to get my ramen, but rather pho, a delicate and delicious pho, I might add and therein lies the pleasant disappointment.   I love pho, from the aromatic and enticing broth to the incredible texture of the meatballs - and don’t forget the tender rice noodles, rare steak, and add vegetables. The soup was off the scale as far as my experience with pho goes.  I suspect the soup, while basically the same from restaurant to restaurant has slightly different touches at each establishment but this bowl, my bowl, was absolutely astounding.  Now remember taste is subjective and another diner might not like tripe (it can be ordered without, I got the combination pho), cilantro, or pho at all for that matter (I’ve no use for pho haters, but whatever), however this is worth trying.

 

There are, of course, other dishes on the PT Noodle menu, but when one goes to a noodle joint, he or she should order the pho at least once out of respect for the noodle. Want to see the menu?  Check out: http://ptnoodles.com/.

PT Noodle

Surprise

Phone: (623) 322 -8399

Address: 13749 N Litchfied Rd, Suite G109, Surprise AZ 85374

There seems to be a migration of sorts back to Blogger, so I thought maybe it's time to go home.  I believe blogger is more personal and homey than Face Book or Twitter, I mean how many selfies with duck lips can one take - here, at least, you actually get to know people. In fact many of my Facebook regulars are old acquaintances from Blogger and I miss the laughs, stories, and even the rants, not to mention the latest view of them, their works, their children, pets, and latest success.

So I will try again, hope to come back across some of the old friends, make new friends and learn some
things along the way.  And no duck lips.