Dinner and the Theater

The night before Lita's 80th birthday party (Halloween eve), we went out to Fillippi's for some prime rib before going to the theater to see The Lion King. The dinner was great and the play was fabulous with great songs, outstanding costumes and clever special effects. Definitely recommended.

Grandma Lita's birthday

We're down in Rancho Bernardo getting ready for Lita's 80th birthday. Her loyal dog Abe has decided to start moving the river rock beach pebbles we just laid down around her pepper tree next to the patio. The big party is Saturday, and we're going to the theater on Friday night to see The Lion King. Back home Sunday night, will have to remember the "fall back" time change on Saturday night so we don't miss our flight.

49ers lose big

We saw the 49ers lose to the Atlanta Falcons at Candlestick Park on Sunday by 45-10. Click the vid to see the only touchdown they scored all day. The tailgating was fun, but the game was ho-hum.

Ebay fatigue

Turn up the volume to hear Cindy's confusion after a grueling day of photographing items destined for Ebay.

Santa Cruzin'

After a day of sailing the Santa Cruz coastline, I always have to take a nap.

Santa Cruz 2009

We partied with a delightful young couple from the U.K. on our annual sailboat ride in Santa Cruz last night. Click to start the vid.

Movin' In

Lots of work being done at Alex's new digs...yesterday it was a stifling 105 degrees and we were power-washing the garage, driveway, and front walkways, trimming bushes, mowing lawns, trimming a front yard tree, and then painting the inside...furniture, bed, TV, and a refrigerator go in today to make it ready to go.

Playing catch up

No excuses other than "busy" as to why I haven't posted in months. Let's catch up: in November, Cindy and I spent the weekend at the St Francis/Union Square in The City. (Click to see the amateurs show off their skating skills in the video clip below). In February, Lindsay starting working for the State and is now working for CalSters in West Sacramento. We also worked on our side yard project in the Spring (see the before-and-after pictures above). and our top patio (see more before-and-afters above). In June, Cindy and I had an "unvacation" in Kings Beach. She and I both had to interrupt the week by returning to town to have her eye retina lasered and for me to attend a client meeting in Pleasanton. My Mom visited for a few days going to and coming back from her Alaskan cruise. This summer, Ryan is planning a bathroom remodel, Alex is in escrow to buy a house, and Cindy has started selling small antiques on Ebay. We stayed at the Argonaut Hotel at Fisherman's Wharf two weekends ago, and this weekend I got ER-diagnosed with diverticilitis again. We have a Santa Cruz vacation planned in a few weeks. Looking forward to the beach breezes. CLICK ON ANY PICTURE TO ENLARGE IT.

Kite festival

The Boardwalk in Santa Cruz opened on a sunny Saturday and hosted an awesome kite festival on the beach. Click on any picture to enlarge it.

Santa Cruz 2008

Cruising the waters of Santa Cruz on Wednesday afternoon... Click the arrow to start the video.

Rancho Bernardo Winery

We spent a few afternoon hours on Sunday at the winery just down the road from Grandma Lita's home listening to some live latin jazz and sampling the local wines. We also got a chance to see Emily and meet Robbie for the first time. Then we went back to Grandma's house and had a tasty barbeque in her newly refurnished back yard. Click the arrow to see some moments at the winery.

French Laundry Dinner Party

Dean and Mary treated us to an authentic reproduction of a five course dinner from the pages of the famous French Laundry restaurant. They cooked all day. We started with linguini and clams, moved to a fig and fennel salad, then corn chowder and red pepper soup, and followed by a delicious sauteed sea bass with parsnip puree and saffron sauce. Dessert was homemade ice cream in chocolate bowls. Jack and Dean treated us to matching wines throughout the feast. By the end of dinner, the four naughty wenches gathered for a final photo shoot before declaring the evening a rousing success.

Wild turkeys

I think the sight of me at 6:30 AM was too frightening for these breakfasting turkeys who left our front yard once they spied me.

Incline Village

A little north of Kings Beach, on the Nevada side, is the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Incline Village. Their Lone Eagle Grill is right on the beach and overlooks a floating pier with a bar. Cindy is using the binoculars to see the snow capped peaks across Lake Tahoe. Click it.

Tahoe City

This is the quiet harbor inTahoe City, a few minutes south of Kings Beach. Click to see Cindy playing with her new jewelry at about the 38 second mark.

80th birthday bash

We flew down to Orange County via John Wayne Airport on Friday and stayed at the Sheraton Park Hotel next to Disneyland for two nights. On Saturday, we caught the new Indiana Jones flick and did some clothes shopping. Later that afternoon, we drove over to my Dad's house to celebrate his 80th birthday along with about 50 friends and relatives. My Mom's 80th is coming up in October. We head up to Lake Tahoe on the 14th (the day before Father's Day) for a week's R & R at the Guests' condo and then we have 3 family birthdays in the next 30 days. My Mom may drive up on the 20th to visit us on her way to Seattle. Abby is recuperating nicely after being mauled by a large dog and should have her oversized cone off in the next few days. This weekend's plans are still being mulled...Richard's 55th birthday party?...Garrett & Amy's baby shower?...Dean's play at the Woodland Opera House?...stay tuned.

Bodega Bay chillin'

Thanks to the Gollihur family for allowing us to stay in their Bodega Bay house over Memorial weekend. The weather was crisp and refreshing. We spent Saturday afternoon on the back deck listening to Sinatra/Bennett/Tyrell/Buble, charting the flight patterns of the many hawks overhead, and critiquing the golfers' swings on the 11th-hole tee box directly in front of us.

Bodega Bay Memorial Weekend

We stayed two nights on the North Coast over the Memorial Day Weekend. We ate at The Tides on Saturday night, and had a seafood feast at the Bodega Bay house on Sunday evening. The nights were cool so we fired up the fireplace both nights. On Saturday, we did a northerly road trip to Duncans Mills, Jenner, and Fort Ross. the only Russian settlement in the U.S, (1812 to 1842), and where the first windmill in California history was built. Hwy 1 was "Lombard St" curvy above Bodega Bay. We're back now, but will be flying down to Orange for Roy's 80th birthday on Friday.

This just in...

Lucky girl. Now she can support her Mom and Dad.

Spring News

Spring has sprung. Our new pop-up sprinklers in the front yard are working great and the lawn is now lush. One of our four crepe myrtles in the backyard, that we thought the frost claimed, is now blooming. All the outside plants, including the new patio 6-foot banana plant, are really busting out. A few weeks ago we enjoyed Dean in LION IN WINTER in Roseville, he is getting ready to do STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE in about a week. We also spent a weekend in San Francisco at the St Francis, enjoyed an excellent dinner at Le Colonial, and a not-so-excellent play called SHOPPING!! THE MUSICAL. Last weekend we celebrated cinco de mayo on tres de mayo in Dean's backyard (see party animal Cindy above), and this weekend Lindsay, her new friend Cory, and Ryan came over for a Sunday Mom's Day cocktail party in the backyard. Cory and Alex did the heavy lifting for Cindy's new cement bench. We are winging down to Orange on the 30th to celebrate my Dad's 80th birthday. The heat will introduce itself this week and Spring will give way to Summer. We're still trying to plan a vacation between now and Santa Cruz in September.