Visit to a NW Dream

Sis and her hubby bought a five acre view lot some years ago. After retirement, they designed and built their dream home on this lot. Sis designed the house and gardens herself and even drafted the blueprints.

We just visited them and were introduced to their dream. It was inspirational. Our ancestral families come from the farm and garden, so it is no great astonishment that one of us would inherit the interest, and it helped to have a handy partner who shares her love. They did all the grounds themselves except for the drip irrigation system. We left with a new enthusiasm for our own garden (and a car full of plants to prime our new activity).

I was allowed to take the mini-Deere for a joy ride.

The NW is called evergreen, but for some months of the year, Sis dubs it evergray. So they escape to their southern desert home in the winter.

Trip To Deja Vu

Owen invited me down to see the Deja Vu PAC-12 Championship Game (Stanford vs. UCLA II), preview to the Deja Vu Rose Bowl Game (Stanford vs. Wisconsin II), and I happily accepted. Debby was getting over a nasty virus and also had activities planned, so I traveled solo.

The trip started on an off note. When I got to the gate, the sign said Flight Canceled. But the gatekeepers put me straight. While it was true that there was no flight to SFO as planned, they would be happy to honor my ticket on a flight to Oakland. I leapt at the chance, realizing that Bart could connect the dots. Alaska even offered a coach to connect the dots. But the best offer came from Owen, who volunteered to pick me up in Oakland. This worked out well, for O & K took me out to a favorite Burmese restaurant in Alameda on the way home. Thank you, Kea.

Both my hosts had to work Friday, so I went with them to their usual coffee shop for their breakfast bites. This is a nice tradition they have. The staff and patrons seem to know each other passingly well, greeting each other on a first name basis. It seemed a gentile way to start the business day, a particularly useful buffer if the work environment one is preparing to enter may be less than gentile.

Kea dropped me back at their pad on her way to work. I hung out reading a book that Kea indirectly recommended called A Tale of Two Cities. I had read another novel by the author over 50 years prior and hadn’t been impressed, but accepted this challenge to kill some time.

In my usual way with fiction, I checked the opening lines and closing lines before settling in. All I can say is WOW. Where had this book been all my life. After the first bit, more densely written than perhaps necessary but nonetheless profound, it became a page turner. Kea loaned me an old copy to take with me.

I wish they had assigned me this book in HS rather than Moby Dick. My life might be different. The latter also began famously, but I could never finish it. Thus my life’s rule that both the opening and closing lines must be famous if I am to be confident of successful completion and an acceptable return on my reading investment.

Kea picked me up around one and drove me down to the book store on campus during her lunch hour. I hung out there until O picked me up at three and we walked the campus prior to settling in to game mode. Thank you for the tix, O. The weather held.

It was an overly exciting game, a classic American contest between blue and red forces, except this time the good guys wore red (actually black). The stands were just past half full, because rain was forecast and half the seats were reserved for the blue team. Their reputation for not traveling seems well earned. The red supporters in the stands made a lot of noise at the end, perhaps inspiring the team to find their fourth quarter gear.

The blue team had been accused of sandbagging in the prior week’s game, in order to get to play the same red patsy this week and then sucker punch us. Of course that is unprovable, but we should not have been entirely surprised that the blue team now dominated the red team for three quarters of the reprise game, controlling the line of scrimmage in a manner defying all memory of the week past. Only an interception, leading to a TD, kept the red team in the game. And that is right where the red coach wanted to be, still in the game at the start of the 4th quarter.

At the end of Q3, the blue team was doing their pre-victory dance on the sideline, ahead by a TD and blissfully unaware of their tenuous position; the red team had the ball and was on the move going into their destiny quarter. The red offensive skill players continued to make big pressure plays and the red D rose up with blue drive stoppers.

Red won the last quarter 10-0 and hence the Rose Bowl berth, where, you guessed it, we will face the cheeseheads again (deja vu all over again, recalling 2000, same opponent and style, but without a Heisman trophy in their backfield). Late News Flash: A few days after our game, the current cheesehead coach quit, so the cheesehead coach from 2000 (currently the cheesehead AD) will step back into the head coaching role for the Rose Bowl game, rendering complete our deja vu experience.

Kea prepared a great autumn meal for us when we returned: spicy pumpkin-squash soup with home-made bacon bits, green salad, and bread, good fare for a late dinner. M-m-m.

We decided to go to the City on Saturday, first to browse the Ferry Building for waffle and mocha at a boutique coffee joint, goodies at the cheese shoppe, and other small gifts. Then we moseyed on over to the Cow Palace to enjoy a stroll through the Dickens Faire. Owen wore his top hat, topcoat, vest, and ascot. Kea bought a pirate hat at the show to go with her TOTC scarf, and Owen upgraded his gentleman’s attire with several new custom-made pieces.

We stopped for lunch in Burlingame and then they dropped me at the airport. Alaska took me straight home without detour. The airport was nearly empty; there was no line at security, a first for me in the last decade.

Postscript: The blue team has been crushed by the green meanies from Waco in their humbling (painful) bowl performance, casting doubt on the red team's fate in their bowl game. Are we left coasters really that bad?

Post-postscript: The left coast red team was pushed by the underrated midwest red team (aka cheeseheads), but we persevered to win the Rose Bowl game, ending a great year.

Winter

We had snow first in mid-November and next in mid-January.


Ben was able to attend Debby's medicare b'day celebration, which we combined with a Chanukah dinner for the local family. The next day, we went down to have lunch with Stef and the twins at Boom Noodle. Then Stef drove Ben to the airport for his return.


In tune with other holiday happenings, we host a gift opening on Dec 25th by our yule tree. Nate got a large train set and Emi got a treasure chest filled with costumes for fairy tale characters. Yours truly kept the home fires stoked.


We had several days of snow in mid-January that dumped ~10 inches on us. The trash guys failed to show up one day; the mailman failed to show on another day. People were hardier when I was young. On the other hand, bad snow is a rarity here, so no great inconvenience from missing an occasional day.

I am determined not to buy snow tires or a snow shovel. I'm a gut-it-out kind of person :-) This is our third winter here and so far so good. I use an inverted metal leaf rake to shovel the snow from the walk and drive. Works great. And the Audi's Quattro AWD works fine with M+S-rated all-weather tires. But we are keeping our eyes open for an AWD baby SUV for Debby, so she can drive herself when the roads are bad.

Owen visited us and caught the beginnings of our current storm. We had Dori and family over for a Saturday night spaghetti feast. On Sunday, Owen enjoyed tromping through the snow before we visited Pike Place Market. The kippered (dry smoked) sockeye salmon from the market is delicious. It was a slow day there, so they even threw our small bag of smoked salmon with loud ceremony, to make a little show for the few patrons in the area. We dined at a wine bar called Purple before getting Owen back to the airport.


Our back yard assumes a special aura when the snow falls:


And meanwhile, creative energy was being expended in a backyard nearby. Gotta love those eye lashes.


As the snow piled on, we couldn't resist going out and frolicking - well as close to frolic as we come these days.


The final word on snowmen was captured via iPhone out the car window just down the block from us.


While walking my usual running route through the neighborhood, this wintery scene handily popped onto my iPhone.

San Francisco Weekend

We took a weekend trip to see Owen and Kea and their new place. We persuaded my sister Deb to spend part of the weekend with us also; she got a ride down and back from Sacto with a friend.

Kea and Owen met us at the airport Fri evening and we went to a local restaurant, Mistral, for dinner before being dropped off at our favorite hotel in the area, Sofitel, just a few blocks from their condo.

Kea had a class in Egyptology at Berkeley Sat morning, so Owen took us up to San Mateo for a dim sum lunch at Champagne, then over to Sweet Breams, a small shop preparing Japanese-style miniature waffles in the shape of fish with one's choice of fillings. One buys them by the school (dozen) and they come in a ventilated box, piping hot. We chose half and half: nutella and red bean fillings. They seemed to know Owen and Kea very well there - it seems they slide by often, and the owner worked at EA while Kea was there. It rained most of the day, so eating seemed like a good passtime.

We returned to the condo to meet-up with Deb and Kea and did some catching up before venturing back out to Roti, an Indian restaurant in Burlingame for dinner. After dinner, we returned to San Mateo to introduce Deb to Sweet Breams. I took a side trip into Beard Papa for a cream puff.

Sunday morning, Owen picked us up and we returned to the condo for a video chat with Barry, Kelly, and Lilah, followed by a video chat with Ben and Sasha. Then all five of us got into Kea's near-new Saab 9.5 Aero and headed for a lunch date at Greens in Fort Mason, a vegetarian restaurant on the bay. They greeted Owen and Kea as long time customers and ushered us into their private alcove off the main dining room. The food was as fine as the atmosphere.

After a leisurely lunch, Owen drove us over to the Sutro Baths on the coast and we enjoyed a sunny afternoon strolling along the cliffs at Land's End with a great view of the GG Bridge.

Then it was time for a coffee and chocolate snack, so Owen drove us over to the Blue Bottle Coffee kiosk for some creamy mocha, then around the corner to Elbow Artisanal Chocolates.

Kea drove us back home, and we socialized. Sister Deb showed Kea how to tat, and Kea's great progress since with tatting can be viewed on her facebook page.

Owen drove us to the airport. We grabbed a pretty good burger at the Burger Joint inside the terminal and then caught our ride home. We used Virgin America for the first time and liked the interior of the planes - something a little different.

Springtime at Zipline

We joined Dori and kiddos at a local park half-way between our houses. For a half hour we all enjoyed a cool but sunny day, a rarity hereabouts this year.

As usual, Nate was off exploring while Emi socialized with her grands, which Dori was quick to click.

January '11 Happenings

We took a trip to LA to visit family and friends, and also to switch weather for a while. We traded five days of a cold rain for sunshine, palm trees, and 80 degrees. We stayed with Ben and Zhanna on the beach in Redondo, and also David and Ruth in the OC.


David took me to his gym for a complete workout while Debby had coffee with friends from her old school. I was pleased to do three miles on the elliptical while keeping my pulse under 140, but my shoulders hurt for several days from using the weights afterward. We also spent time in the sauna and jacuzzi. It was my first time ever at a fitness place. David has a real deal on his package, but I still prefer running and bicycling out of doors. But here in the NW, I will start using the Y facilities in the winter; I get a free membership with my new health plan. Thank you, Medicare.


We also got to visit Debby's Aunt and Uncle and friends Dave and Ann in San Juan Capistrano. It was a nice respit from the hardships of retirement in the NW (j/k). Sasha made her way into many of the photos. She is Lapa or Lapushka to her mother, Russian for 'little paw'. She gets long walks on the beach bike path every day to the music of waves and seagulls. Must get boring, haha.

After we returned, Ari invited me to go up to Snoqualmie Pass for skiing. Jordan was taking a series of skiing lessons on Saturdays, and Ari had decided to take some lessons also. I was able to get some videos of them on the bunny slope. Ari looked comfortable on skis, and Jordan was already on my hill by his afternoon session. I referred to my hill as Big Thunder, but Jordan wasn't having any of it, always correcting me that it was actually called Little Thunder. Below is a picture of my favorite hangout, the rest area by the hot mocha stand. The last picture shows the bottom of the bunny slope and its rope tow.

I hadn't been on skis in at least 15 years. It all came back quickly, but I find age and balance has me regressed one notch on the skill level scale. I still could get down the hill, but found it more comfortable to traverse than to go directly for the fall line. Zero style points, but fun all the same. Other than some sore muscles, I survived well; my caution was rewarded. They gave me 165cm skis, which were too short for the conditions; they would become directionally unstable sometimes over icy ruts. Next time, I will use 180s.

I rode up the quad chair a couple of times with fathers toting three year olds. The dads would then tether the child to them with a rope and ski down behind them. The kids all seem to love it. At the other end of the spectrum, in a year or so I will become eligible for a super senior lift pass, enabling me to ski all day for $12. I intend to take them up on it, just for the satisfaction. I didn't see any super-senior passes in use this day on my hill. They all might have been hanging out at the top of the mountain, skiing the cornice.

Breakfast In Bed on Birthday

Dori brought Debby breakfast in bed, here shared with Nate and Emi, who love being in bed with Grandma Debby.

A B'day Song
Now that you're older, color your hair, borderline and more,
You can still count on those Valentines, B'day greetings, bottle of wine.
When you vacation out of my sight, I won't lock the door,
Because I still need you, can't wait to see you,
When you're sixty four.

Goodbye 2009

Looking back, we enjoyed good health. Debby had just retired as the year began, so we have been accustoming to living in the same space all day. Kermit passed away, severing our last commitment to Southern Cal. We sold our house in Santa Ana, bought a house near Seattle and then moved.  Owen helped us with the move and drove up with us. We bought some new furniture and made some upgrades to our new abode. We cashed out some investments and paid cash for our house, becoming debt-free for the first time in our adult lives. I took three lessons each in ice skating and Tai Chi. We are learning a lot about rain and big trees. Two of our previously childless offspring surprised us with news of their being in a family way.

Years like this are guaranteed to keep us young. But perhaps 2010 will be a slower year where we consolidate our gains, establish ourselves in our new environment, and get acquainted with two new grandbabes.

2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010

I think I've got the hang of it. Great number. 2020 will be even better.

Happy New Year all!