“Let’s do sprints!”
Monday started with a very enjoyable run. What made it fun? The 62 degree weather – perfect for running and such a nice change. We can both move faster and further when the temperatures are 20 degrees cooler than we’re used to.
After a quick shower, I made a trip to the hand surgeon to see about a small cyst on the palm of my hand. He informed me it is minor “dupuytrens” – a genetic condition common to Northern Europeans and more likely to be found after a hand has been operated on (as mine was 2 years ago). Nothing to worry about but it can ultimately pull your pinky down to where it’s permanently bent. We plan to get it removed on November 9th in a quick outpatient surgery. The J.W. Marriott in Austin, with its faulty door, has more to answer for!
After work we relaxed with the latest episode of Billions – by far my favourite current TV series. The dialogue is so quick and good that I usually watch twice to pick up all the subtle pop-culture references. McD did ask if I wanted to watch Monday Night Football, but I decided to give her a break from that.
I had another enjoyable run on Wednesday morning. This time below 60 degrees – perfect. After that, it was a busy day of packing and shipping. First, we loaded the Passat for shipping to Alicia in San Jose, CA. It should arrive early Monday. Sorry to see such a good car go. It served us well on multiple road trips to Austin and California.
Car shipped, it was time to turn attention to the storage unit and unearthing the furniture that Finn will use in his new apartment. You can see that boxes were stacked in a very higgledy piggledy way, and so the only option was to unpack everything and then repack with the furniture needed at the front. This was not something that Finn or I thought our backs would be able to endure, and so hired a few helpers to do the hard work. They had things unpacked and reorganized for the official move in no time and I didn’t even break a sweat supervising.
We relaxed on Wednesday evening with a movie called “The Starling”. The stars are Mellissa McCarthy, Kevin Kline, and Chris O’Dowd. It took us a few evenings to finish, but this is a great film. Understated, funny, and very poignant. Highly recommended!
We made two tries to get Finn his Texas drivers license on Friday. One at 7am – already more than 100 people in line so we didn’t stop and again at 3pm to see if they would take walk-ins later in the day – again a hard no. 
We did take advantage of being close to downtown McKinney in the morning to stop in for coffees and quiches at Filtered. They have finished the sidewalk expansion and put in new flower planters. Very pretty view for our coffee talk. We’ll try a more remote location next week. Appointments for new licenses are booking out in February of next year, so we need to figure out a walk-in alternative.
The keys to Finn’s new apartment were picked up on Saturday afternoon. The unit looks great with new carpet in the bedroom and wood floors in the living and kitchen areas. We dropped off a bed frame and the internet set up kit, and will be back on Tuesday for the official move in. Finn seems excited.
Penelope has been enjoying having the entire garage to herself – parking sideways to flaunt it – silly girl. That will be coming to a quick end as we put a deposit down on a VW Atlas Cross Sport on Saturday morning. It’s black with burgundy and black seats. I was quite surprised that McD agreed to two tone seats – but she seems genuinely fine with it. The car should arrive in a few days – maybe we’ll have it by next weekend to finish moving Finn. Here’s an old but funny commercial for the Atlas:
I tried to take Diana to a new place for lunch after car shopping. Stix Icehouse looked really fun when I drove by it, but didn’t open until 3pm – weird since it was TX vs OU college football day. They play every year in the Cotton Bowl, and it’s a huge deal around here. My boss invited me to go with him on Saturday morning, but we had already planned car shopping. The game ended up being an absolute doozie with a huge number of points scored and a very exciting finish. Oh well. Getting down there with the State Fair in progress would have been a nightmare – and getting out perhaps even worse. Better to watch on TV.
We went for a long run on Saturday morning, and in a weak moment I agreed to go for a walk with “sprints” on Sunday morning. Diana kept changing the rules about how long the sprints would be, how frequent they would be, and how many we were doing. On arriving home, she told me that’s what Amy would do to her when she was her trainer. Amy and Ray just rented a house in Santa Fe – so we have a place to stay if we want to go skiing there in the New Year. If my legs recover from sprints this morning.
I just watched the New Orleans Saints (with a depleted roster) defeat Washington. Very nice as they are in the same division as the Cowboys. The Cowboys are now playing the New York Giants and are off to a dubious start – but it’s still the first quarter. They can taking a commanding lead in their division with a win today.
I finished up “Away with the Penguins” by Hazel Prior this week. I was disheartened to find that the book has been renamed to “How the Penguins saved Veronica” for the American market. I don’t like that title anywhere near as much. Either way, I highly recommend this book. Veronica is one of my favourite characters in a while – particularly in her initial interactions with Eileen (her housekeeper) in her home in Ayrshire (the county in Scotland where I grew up). The latter third of the book dragged a bit and started to get a bit trite, but don’t let that put you off what is overall a very enjoyable read.
I loved the opening quote:
“I find penguins at present the only comfort in life…one can’t be angry when one looks at a penguin.” John Ruskin
A perfect description of a mean Scottish wind:
“The wind cuts through me. It is that damp, feral variety of wind one finds only in Scotland. I huddle in my coat and pick my way northward along the coast path. I have always believed in the efficacy of a daily walk and I refuse to be put off by inclement weather. To my left the sea churns in slate-grey patterns and spits a wild, white froth out into the air.”
Some local Scottish information that made me smile. Mum and Dad used to book holidays through a travel office in Kilmarnock:
“My tickets were ordered by phone from the travel office in Kilmarnock. They confirmed them by email via Eileen and sent the tickets also by email via Eileen, who has printed them out and given them to me. Why they have to make everything so complicated I will never understand.”
One of the key plot elements is Veronica discovering her grandson, Patrick:
“As we are in good time Eileen insists that we stop to have a coffee together in one of the noisy café areas. I have just selected the only table that is free from other people’s detritus when, to my shock, I discover a tall, scruffy young man is standing right in front of me.
‘Hello, Granny!'”
A typical email from Eileen to Veronica and her mental response:
“I saw some Penguin biscuits in Kilmarnock Stores yesterday and thought of you. I didn’t buy any, though. I haven’t got through the lovely marshmallow chocolate biscuits you left yet. I’m trying not to eat too many at once. Doug (my husband) says it won’t do my figure any favours. I know he’s right, but I do like sweet things so much.”
“I cannot think why she bothers to send these emails when she has nothing of any interest to say.”
On introducing Pip, the baby penguin that Veronica insisted on rescuing, back into the group:
“Sometimes we leave him in the ‘creche’, which is the name they give to a bunch of kiddo penguins left together while their penguin parents go out fishing. Pip’s getting braver and braver. He trundles around with the other chicks, plays chase and hop-the-puddle and so on.”
Every time I paste the picture above in to the blog I dream of building a bookcase unit like that to store albums.
I love the slide guitar on this song that we heard on the soundtrack to the new Clint Eastwood film, “Cry Macho”. We fell asleep and still need to finish the movie.
Here’s a new video from my latest find, Houndmouth. Such a good sound and the musicians are in such a good groove together:
Here are a couple of really good songs from “The Starling” soundtrack. Great movie and a very pleasant soundtrack:
And finally, a classic from Allison Moorer with an excellent guitar solo from Joe McMahan at 3:00 mins in:
Stay safe, kind and patient!
I thoroughly enjoyed the overall meal and experience. The shrimp empanada appetizer (served in a burlap sack) was a great start. My dry aged chorizo steak was a wonderful way to continue. I’ve never had such a large table side menu before. That’s Norma (my LATAM CIO) and Francisco (LATAM COO) in the picture.
I took Finn for sushi after I picked him up from work on Thursday. He loved the place I chose. The salsa dancer (pictured here) was a great dish, and we picked out a couple of others that were equally delicious. McD was surprised that I wouldn’t go for sushi with her but took Finn. Can’t win!
Ollie made a trip down to San Jose on Saturday and accompanied Will on the patio of Rosie’s Irish Pub while he enjoyed a shepherd’s pie. I’ve had that there before and it’s delicious.
I was texting my friend Tom in New York on Sunday to see what was new. Was not expecting him to reply that he had triplet grand-children. The guy in the middle, Michael, was only 1 lb. at birth and spent 4 months in the NICU- I’m sure he’ll catch up quickly.
I really enjoyed S. A. Cosby’s “Razorblade Tears.” Even better than his last, “Blacktop Wasteland”, with more complex and relatable characters and more vivid action. Not for the feint of heart, but really well done. Here’s the Amazon review:
Denny and Anne celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary last Thursday, and Anne chose this picture to commemorate the occasion. It was taken on a trip we took with them to Nashville in December 2017. Classic Denny and Anne.
We hung out for a while on the lovely porch and then called it a night. Coffee the next morning was challenging – the high-tech, automated house and equipment were almost too much for us. Diana finally rebooted the fancy coffee maker and we were in business.
This was one of the after dinner games we enjoyed. I laughed because Finn is someone that absolutely knows the answer to that question. Another game was a combination of Pictionary and the Telephone Game called Telestrations – highly recommended. That was a big hit with the group.
unday morning. He walked down to the French patisserie with us, we enjoyed breakfast (Croque Madame for me), and brought back a selection of pastries and quiches for the gang. I couldn’t resist taking a picture of this T-Rex enjoying a Trump snack in a yard we passed.
I had mentioned to Mum and Dad that I was hoping they would have a stuffed quail on the new Autumn menu – and wouldn’t you know it, they had a delicious dish on there. The overall new menu was filled with things that are right up our alleys. Mussels, octopus, pork belly – all great. Uber back home was a bit more work, but not to huge a hassle.
We hung out at the hotel for dinner and Sunday night football watching. These are my traveling companions Blair and Damon exchanging views on the game.
I read “Lake Success” by Gary Shteyngart in a couple of days early this week. It’s a quick and easy read with a constant oscillation from quirky humour to truly sad situations. The challenge is that the main characters really do come across too much like caricatures, and the main plot of Barry Cohen, uber rich hedge fund dude, abandoning everything to cross the country on a Greyhound bus, just a bit too far fetched. The book made all the big top 10 lists when published in 2018, and I think part of that was driven by the back drop of the Trump election and how that features prominently in this tale. I did learn a lot about very expensive watches – Barry’s passion. Here’s the Amazon review:
My second book was “What’s Mine and Ours” by Naima Coster. It’s been a week or so since I read this book, and I couldn’t remember the plot or characters without some internet research – probably tells you this was not very exciting or memorable to me. I did enjoy the read but it certainly didn’t have too much to embed itself in my memory. Here’s the summary review:
Bob Schneider played an excellent show at the Kessler on Friday night. He performed both an early and a late show, and so we were home at a reasonable hour after a concert in Oak Cliff for a change. This was a good thing as my Saturday started at 7am with a Finn drop-off.
We’ve been enjoying watching the US Open tennis, and particularly the new youngsters that have been doing so well. There is clearly a new generation taking control of women’s tennis, with the amazing feat by Emma Raducanu of winning the final without dropping a set the entire tournament. She was ranked 150th going in.
I’ve read a couple of book since my last posting. “A Spool of Blue Thread” by Anne Tyler is described this way in a review:
My other read was “The Eternal Audience of One” by Remy Ngamije, a writer from Namibia. The story follows Seraphin as he escapes Rwanda, then Namibia, and tries to make a life in Cape Town. Here’s a summary from a review:
The airport was eerily quiet – we were the only folks at all in terminal D security – very unusual. Even Heathrow was relatively quiet and a pretty painless experience. We’re always impressed with the service on the 1 hour flight from London to Glasgow – drinks, full meal, coffee or tea, with no fuss or rush. If only all flights were like those ones. Diana captured the view from the window as we came in to land in Glasgow. That’s the river Clyde in the second picture – where so many famous ships were built in years past.
Monday began with a run around Stewarton – I think we covered most of the highlights including Main Street, Avenue Square and a couple of different sections of park. In the evening we walked around the neighborhood – checking out some of the new developments since we last visited, and admiring the sunset behind Ravenscraig castle.
On Tuesday we tried out a new running destination – Elspeth had mentioned the new Lainshaw Woods trail along the Annick River was very nice. This was indeed a great running spot with nice views and a good path. Quite different than what the area was like when I grew up – quite seedy indeed. The trail follows the river for several miles and is really well done. Some calves had escaped their field and were enjoying the river also.
After that morning exercise we drove down to Culzean castle with a stop in Dunure on the way. Our attempt to show Diana the Electric Brae – an optical illusion where the road appears to be sloping in one direction but is really going in the other – was foiled by a ball that had seen much better days (maybe 40 years ago). Dunure is a very picturesque fishing village.
We had to wait on a reservation at Nardini’s and so had a nice wander along the front. This sign about the Vanduara house being used by Lord Mountbatten during World War II to plot the Normandy invasions was very interesting.
We skipped our run on Saturday and instead drove into Glasgow to get our U.S. reentry COVID tests. This was a very efficient and well organized process and we just beat Elspeth and David back to Stewarton. Heather and Michael arrived later in the afternoon and we gave Dad his presents and cake. It was such a shame that Struan and Emily could join us – both getting over the virus. The living room had been “Bramble proofed” on Friday night, and we were able to measure and see that Diana was in fact a bit taller than Geoffrey the giraffe.
Dinner was excellent – I enjoyed chicken liver pate and sole meuniere. Diana said that the mussels she had were perhaps the best she’s tasted. Here are some more pictures from the 85th celebration:
Elspeth, David and Bramble spent the night in a local hotel, and joined us again for most of the day on Sunday. We got to take Bramble for a run through Lainshaw Woods – risking off the leash as we were assured she was very good that way. She was mostly fine with only a minor incident when she wanted to join right in with another very similar dog who was waiting for her owner to throw a tennis ball. “But why can’t I play too?” Poor bramble was quite tired out by the time McD had her running up the final set of stairs.
Diana tried out the old school clothes drying technique with her running suit. Not something you see much of around Texas cities.
pleasant evening catching up with everyone. Saturday began with a run and walk for D and me, while most of the group went hiking by the coast. The roads were quite hilly and narrow – not completely ideal for running – but a good test for us. The first test was how to get out of the coded gate from the inside without the weight of a car on the sensor pad. We managed to squeeze through and later learned of a code box hidden on a fence post. The driveway is very long.
Saturday afternoon was spent relaxing by the pool, followed by a lovely dinner at “Pamplemousse” – a highly recommended local restaurant in Solana Beach. I really enjoyed my Duo of Game – a Venison Chop Au Poivre and Lemon Thyme Marinated Quail. This was the waiter’s number one recommendation and I’m glad I followed his lead.
Finn started work earlier in the week in the produce department at Market Street (a high end grocery store 2 miles from our home). He’s enjoying it and seems to be doing well in the eyes of his managers.
I read “Clever Girl” by Tessa Hadley over the last week or so. Having really enjoyed a short story from Hadley in the New Yorker, I thought I would give this a try.
Alicia took Finn on an outing to bowl at Pinstack on Tuesday – it’s nice for him to have someone around to hang out with during the day when we’re working. Alicia’s friend had given them a bunch of tokens that Finn deployed to win three stuffies from the claw game that I thought never allowed anyone to win – a hidden talent.
Alicia joined us for a show at the Kessler on Thursday night while Finn kept Clorinda company watching the Olympic gymnastics finals. We kept with our pre-concert ritual of dinner at Nova. Diana burger, Thai cauliflower with noodles for me, and Moroccan chicken for Alicia – quite the eclectic international mix.
Ellis had the first three songs organized and then relied on audience requests. One entertaining moment occurred when someone requested “Two Cans of Paint.” “I don’t remember the guitar part to that.” “I can play it,” from an audience member. “Who is that?” “It’s Stacy.” “My friend Stacy – come on down and play a song for us.” Apparently Ellis had met Stacy on his last visit to the Kessler. She played a beautiful song.
The lineup of talent in the next month or so at the Kessler is very impressive. I think musicians really love playing there.
The “kids” were quickly on board when I suggested Velvet Taco for lunch on Sunday. I’m not sure if it moved since Brent and I visited last, prior to auditioning speakers at Audio Concepts, but it wasn’t exactly where I remembered. I tortured Finn and Alicia with a visit to Interrabang books after lunch – and it had certainly moved – all the way to Lovers Lane and the other side of the tollway. The new store is smaller and I couldn’t find anything that caught my fancy at all. On prior visits I’ve come away with three or four new books. Maybe I just wasn’t in the right mood.
There was another baking adventure on Sunday evening. Lemon and blueberry cookies with cream cheese frosting was the product this time. The teamwork was solid and Clorinda is working on convincing Alicia to bring some when she returns to California later this week.
There’s a new music technology show out on Apple TV. Mark Ronson hosts a show called “Watch the Sound”, and I’ve been enjoying it with my elliptical workouts. The episode on reverb was fascinating. I had just read in my Robbie Robertson autobiography (more below) about the fantastic reverb available from the concrete chambers underneath the Capitol records recording studios in Los Angeles, and sure enough that was one of the places Ronson visited. That and a massive, abandoned diesel tank in Scotland that is rumored to have the longest reverb in the world.
“Testimony”, Robbie Robertson’s autobiography has been my companion this week. What a fascinating account from an amazing musician who had a front seat to so many musical highlights – backing up Bob Dylan when he went electric, and witnessing Jimi Hendrix first shows in New York to name just a couple. I remember first watching “The Last Waltz”, Scorsese’s movie about The Band’s farewell concert, in university and being completely amazed at the level of musicianship. The book is over 500 pages long and I haven’t quite finished yet.
Just after I posted the blog last week, I received this nifty little tool from Amazon. What do you think this is used for? It’s a $10 item that freed Finn from a hazardous task. We were going to beg him to climb up in the empty alcove at the bottom of the stairs where the bulb has been out for years. Diana changed the next one over, which is easier to get to from the stairs, but we were not comfortable having her try this one. I remember Finn climbing to the top of a friend’s very tall pine tree to install the Christmas star – he used to be such a completely unafraid climber. No need, 2 minutes with the right tool and I had the bulb replaced.
I loved the story of a roadie asking Sir Paul to “pass the salt and pepper”. McCartney heard Sgt. Pepper and thought what an interesting character that might be…
The boys gave me a full interior and exterior detail service for Penelope for my birthday. I thought that should get done before I lost the coupon, and so scheduled it for Monday morning. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate with torrential rain until around 10:30am. The guy who came to do the service had to wait a while for a break in the rain. He came in a special truck outfitted with everything he needed – didn’t even want a hose – “we use special de-ionized water.”
The last piece of the kitchen project arrived this week. Jose installed the new ovens (and a couple of new ceiling fans for the back patio). They certainly seem to heat up and cool down faster than the old ones (which took forever.) Finn cooked a great batch of lemon bars last night. Clorinda is a big fan of those. Diana particularly likes that the doors open vertically rather than horizontally – much easier to get close to the racks to remove hot treats. Penelope got a chuckle out of the fact that the oven is made by the same company, Bosch, that manufactures most of her spare parts. It’s nice to have this project behind us. Well, one small update still required – a couple of the new floor boards pop when you hit them just right. Apparently Jose will need to drill small holes and pump some glue in to fix that.
We managed to break Clorinda away from Olympics watching to work on a jigsaw puzzle for a while. Maybe we shouldn’t have started with one of the super challenging Frenchy ones – but thought the fatter wood pieces would be easier to manage.
I finished “Dirt, Adventures in Lyon as a Chef in Training, Father, and Sleuth Looking for the Secret of French Cooking” by Bill Buford, and promised some quotes. I enjoyed this book but found it a bit of a slog in the middle – too much rambling about the tiny details of French cooking.
I also read “Sorry for Your Trouble”, a collection of short stories and novellas by Richard Ford. I loved his books “The Sportswriter” and “Independence Day” and had high hopes for this collection. The two novellas (around 45 pages long) were quite good, but the short stories didn’t work as well.
I got some work done on Monday between coffee with Finn at Duino, and going to Clorinda’s appointment with the retina specialist in the afternoon. Later, I went to my first Happy Hour with some guys in a while. Robbie and Fred from work met me at Union Bear and we really enjoyed catching up for a couple of hours.
On Friday evening, Finn cooked and hung out with Clorinda so that we could attend a concert at the Kessler. Mike Zito and his Big Band with opener Indigenous. We bought tickets at the last minute and so didn’t have a reserved table. No worries, we got there early and claimed the prime high seats at the back beside the mixing desk. That way Diana had a clear line of sight to the stage, and the sound is premium.
Amy spent the night, having had her fill of crashing on the couch at her kids’ apartment. We ordered food from the Little Greek and enjoyed catching up – getting formal by eating our take out in the dining room.
On Sunday morning I watched the British Open golf while Diana and Amy went out for a run. They both miss their running buddies. Jordan Spieth tried hard but couldn’t keep up with the flawless final round play of Collin Morikawa.
I promised some quotes from “Saved by a Song” by Mary Gauthier – my book last week and my favourite of the year so far and by far:
Finn arrived back from Oregon on Wednesday night – he was tired from the travel and happy to get back in his spot on his couch.
Penelope got new front tires on Saturday morning. Finn and I went to the fancy iPic theater in the afternoon to watch the “Black Widow” movie – the latest in the Marvel franchise. Scarlett Johanss0n starred as the Black Widow, so it wasn’t a total loss.
This was move weekend for Alicia – from San Luis Obispo to San Jose to attend San Jose State University in the fall. She did a great job of coordinating movers and getting everything organized by herself. She seems quite happy with the new apartment, roommate, and the cats that come with the new roommate. Furniture is starting to come together.
On the other hand, “Saved by a Song” by Mary Gauthier, was a rare treat. Each chapter covers what was going on in Gauthier’s life when a song was written and also shows the evolution of the song from first draft to recorded version. The writing is supremely honest and I found it wonderful. I’m almost finished and will include some quotes and examples next week.