Category: Food

“Goodbye Dad”

The funeral service for my Dad was on Monday afternoon.  Attendance at the 427 year old St. Columba’s church was one of the highest in recent years.  Walking into the church after so many years to see the coffin, flowers, all those people, and the pictures of Dad with family rotating on the screen was quite overwhelming.  Family in the front row did a good job of keeping it together.  The kids in the second row not so much – lot of emotions there.  Here’s the order of service:

George Lind, previously the minister at St. Columba’s and who presided at Heather’s wedding, did a very nice job with the service.  Much more meaningful because he had been Dad’s friend for many years.  George included all the notes that Elspeth, myself and the family had provided in his eulogy.  That meant we were all quite familiar with the material, but I’m sure some of it was new for the rest of the attendees.

Here’s the announcements that were included in the order of service from the service last Sunday:

Here’s some more about the history of St. Columba’s:

“The building of 1696 was small and the unpretentious spire remaining today was then in the centre of the place. The only other part of that church still standing is the Corsehill Aisle. The Lainshaw Aisle is built in line with the Corsehill one and may not be of much later date. In 1772 the roof was removed and the walls heightened. The minister of that time wrote: – “it is now well seated and holds a great number.” This minister may have been well pleased with his renovated Kirk, but his feelings were ruffled over the conditions of the manse. It had been built in 1642, fifty years before the church. The minister stated that, although it had some small repairs at different times, it was still in a “very bad condition.” That can be easily understood because the manses of those far-off days were usually small and thatched-roofed with not much more accommodation than the traditional but-and-ben.”

If you’d like to read more about the history, there’s a lot more information here:

https://stewartonstcolumbas.org/about-us/

After the service, we made the short trip to the crematorium in Dreghorn.  I was interested to hear George say that the hymn sung there, “Great is Thy Faithfulness”, was one of Dad’s favourites and he had signed that one in a hymn book George had when he retired.

The organist at the church was excellent.  I only know that he is Joe, don’t know his last name.  He had been out with knee trouble and we were fortunate to have him for the service.  Joe also made the journey to the crematorium and played that favourite hymn.

There was a very chilly wind for the receiving line outside the crematorium, and there were a lot of people to thank for attending.  It felt good to get back in the warm limo for the short ride to the Fenwick hotel.

There had been a lot of concern about how many people would arrive at the Fenwick.  It’s so hard to predict with weather and other plans.  Apparently my sister and Mum guessed perfectly – we had seven tables of ten, and that was exactly what we needed.  The funeral tea was very nice – I got to talk to Mrs. Dunlop, Dr. Bob Dunlop, Cousin Jean, Wee Jean, The Barclays (May and Les), Robin and Julie, Lorna and Russell (what a wonderful set of couples), George and Audrey, Caroline and Jim, Christopher, and several others.  My Mum and Dad have so many lovely friends.

Mum seemed pleased with the events of the day – which is what’s most important.

To finish off this section, here’s what was published in The Herald about Dad:

Elspeth and David stayed overnight and hung out with us on Tuesday morning.  We enjoyed lunch together and then they left for Aberdeen.  In the afternoon Mum and I tackled the cryptic crossword without the group think.  We made relatively quick work of what seemed like an easier than normal puzzle – maybe we were just warmed up from all the chatter over the weekend.

Before they left, we looked through an art portfolio of Dad’s and I selected a couple of paintings to bring back.  I just love this one of a guy fishing.

I came to understand how much better my sister’s memory is than mine.  We were talking about a trip to Forfar for a Golden wedding on Monday night.  She described the dress she was wearing (at the age of maybe 8), the dessert, the box of chocolates she won – what?  I remember very little other than we drove through a snow storm and Dad thought it was a good idea to overtake the snow plough.  There were many other topics during the weekend where I realized that Elspeth has a much better recollection of everything than I do.  A bit disturbing.

We left for Glasgow airport early on Wednesday morning.  Our flight to Heathrow was delayed by about 45 minutes, but we still had plenty of time to make the Dallas flight.  On arrival we were delighted (sarcasm again) to find that there was no jet bridge and we had to descend the stairs with suitcases and ride a bus to Terminal 5.  After wandering through the terminal for about 20 minutes, we made our way to the bus to Terminal 3.  Another 20 minutes or so and we were relaxing in the British Airways First Class Lounge – one of the advantages of flying so much on American Airlines.  Diana enjoyed the Champagne Lounge for 20 minutes and then it was time to head for our Dallas flight.

We rested up a lot on Thursday and Friday, and it was time to venture out in the cold on Saturday.  We enjoyed a yummy but sad lunch at the Blue Goose.   The usual sour cream chicken enchiladas for me, and chicken and shrimp fajitas for Diana.

“That does look yummy, but why sad?”, you ask.  Well, today is the last day of operation for the Blue Goose at this original location.  A lease dispute has brought the 39 year run to an end.  Very sad indeed.  I’ve been eating there since 1986.

Diana’s meal came with the fresh made tortillas from the inhouse machine:

We enjoyed a walk in the brisk weather this morning, and I’m now relaxing with golf and March Madness NCAA basketball.

My book this week was “Britt-Marie Was Here” by Frederick Backman.  I bought this at the Book Nook in Stewarton and have thoroughly enjoyed the humour and care of this story.  Here’s the online summary:

“Britt-Marie can’t stand mess. A disorganized cutlery drawer ranks high on her list of unforgivable sins. She is not one to judge others—no matter how ill-mannered, unkempt, or morally suspect they might be. It’s just that sometimes people interpret her helpful suggestions as criticisms, which is certainly not her intention.

But hidden inside the socially awkward, fussy busybody is a woman who has more imagination, bigger dreams, and a warmer heart that anyone around her realizes.

When Britt-Marie walks out on her cheating husband and has to fend for herself in the miserable backwater town of Borg—of which the kindest thing one can say is that it has a road going through it—she finds work as the caretaker of a soon-to-be demolished recreation center. The fastidious Britt-Marie soon finds herself being drawn into the daily doings of her fellow citizens, an odd assortment of miscreants, drunkards, layabouts. Most alarming of all, she’s given the impossible task of leading the supremely untalented children’s soccer team to victory. In this small town of misfits, can Britt-Marie find a place where she truly belongs.”

The story started out well and then fell into a bit of repetition about Britt-Marie’s habits.  I was getting disappointed and then it quickly picked up again, with the main section on the Borg characters and coaching the soccer team finishing very strongly.

I enjoyed a couple of albums while writing some of this post on the flight from London to Dallas.  The first is the latest from the wonderful Avett Brothers:

And then the latest from Samantha Fish – a wonderful modern blues guitarist:

And let’s close out with one of Dad’s favourites:

 Coexist peacefully, with kindness and compassion for all!

“Cold, snowy and windy – typical Scottish weather”

We flew from Dallas to London on Tuesday afternoon.  I was fortunate to get a last minute upgrade and so was able to get a decent amount of sleep overnight.  Diana survived her exit row economy seat pretty well.  We had a slightly longer than expected layover in the lovely (sarcasm) Heathrow airport due to snow in London and a French air traffic control strike – apparently causing the incoming flight to take a more circuitous route.  We arrived safely in Stewarton in time for a warming bowl of Mum’s soup for lunch.

There were still a lot of pretty flowers left in the house.  Here’s one of my favourites:

Mum had been going through old photos to select some for Dad’s funeral service, and had kept some out for us to enjoy.  I’ll share some of my favourites here:

Dad with baby Finn and Will in San Antonio.  Elspeth said Dad had “magic arms” as he could get the babies to calm down and sleep better than anyone else.

Brunch at the Crepe Place in Santa Cruz

A “real” margarita at the Oasis, Austin

Dad always enjoyed an afternoon margarita from the Taco Cabana close to our San Antonio apartment.  He found the “real” margarita at the Oasis, overlooking Lake Travis, much stronger.  Will seems pretty pleased to be wearing his Mum’s sunglasses.

Whoever took this picture, likely David, was doing something to get Heather and Struan’s attention.  Mum also found an envelope of photos of my final year University project – a submarine and the electronics to control speed and depth.

Here’s a couple of old classics that I don’t remember seeing before:

In fairness, that is a tricycle and not a two wheel standard bike.  There’s always a Cairn terrier around grandpa.  We were watching Crufts dog show this weekend and remembering that Grandpa had judged there.  We weren’t impressed with the winner of the Cairns at Crufts this year.

McD (seems appropriate given the Scottish location) and I braved the weather on Thursday and Friday mornings for walks around town, with complaints that we weren’t going far enough – “But my ears are numb.”  We stopped into the local independent book store, The Book Nook, on Friday and I picked up something for the flight home.  You should be able to read about that next week.  I enjoyed chatting with the man working in the store about his book club selections and favourite recommendations.  The selection was small but very nicely curated.

Diana took this picture showing the snow melting on the sunny side and not at all on the shady side.

Diana took Mum out for a coffee on Friday afternoon while I did some work.  She enjoyed beating Mum to the payment device at the end of their session, even though an ex-pupil of Mum’s was waiting on them.

By the time we returned from our walk on Saturday morning (warming up and so we went a good bit further, including the full length of Lainshaw Woods), Elspeth and David and the kids (Heather, Michael, Struan and Emily) had arrived for lunch.  I laughed at this sign outside my old High School that would appeal to Finn:

We enjoyed some more delicious soup – this time vegetable and an apple crumble.  After lunch entertainment included doing the Herald cryptic crossword – hilarious as David played quiz master, trying to keep up with Mum’s cryptic decoder skills, and watching the Six Nations rugby.  Michael was not happy with the way the match was officiated.

Diana and David took Bramble for a walk on Sunday morning and seemed to have worn her out.

Bramble actually preferred stealing Diana’s seat, whenever she stood up, to sleeping in her bed.

We drove over to the Laird’s Table at Craufurdland for Sunday lunch.  What a lovely meal.  I had a chicken liver mousse with outcakes appetizer, followed by a chickpea curry – both excellent.

The owners of the Craufurdland estate are quite creative about maximizing the return on their property.  They have zip lining, mud running, fishing at the lake, and this exciting opportunity for Bramble:

We finished out Sunday in similar fashion to Saturday – cryptic crossword with David and then watching Scotland get a good beating from Ireland in rugby.  A very pleasant day all around.

Meanwhile, in California, a big storm arrived on Thursday.  It broke the tree around which Adamo had built such a lovely tree house:

I borrowed my book this week from Mum’s library.  I’m a bit over half way through “A Place Called Freedom” by Ken Follett.  Here’s the online summary:

“Set in an era of turbulent social changes on both sides of the Atlantic, A Place Called Freedom is a magnificent historical fiction novel from the undisputed master of suspense and drama, Ken Follett.

A Life of Poverty
Scotland, 1767. Mack McAsh is a slave by birth, destined for a cruel and harsh life as a miner. But as a man of principles and courage, he has the strength to stand up for what he believes in, only to be labelled as a rebel and enemy of the state.

A Life of Wealth
Life feels just as constrained for rebellious Lizzie Hallim, as she struggles with the less cruel circumstances of wealth and privilege. Fiercely independent, she is engaged to a man she doesn’t care for, a landlord’s son and heir to an exploitative business empire.

A Search for Freedom
Lizzie finds herself helping Mack after he becomes a fugitive. Separated by class but bound by their yearning for freedom, they escape to London. True freedom, though, lies further afield, in a new life that awaits across the Atlantic Ocean . . .”

Not my favourite of Follett’s offerings, but reasonably enjoyable so far and an easy read.

Dexter Gordon would have been 100 years old recently.  I think he has such a great saxophone sound:

I read a story that Allison Moorer wrote about the recording of this song.  Very poignant.

And finally something from singer-songwriter Kevin Morby that popped up on my Spotify Discover Weekly playlist.  There’s something about this one that really keeps my attention:

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and compassion for all!

“Mexico City to Dallas – No go!”

We had some very light snow flurries last Tuesday – certainly an omen of what was to come.

Both of  us had dental experiences last Tuesday.   I had a cleaning and Diana went to the orthodontist to see about Invisalign stuff.  I tried to go to a new empanada place I had read about close to Dr. Toney’s office but they were closed – next time.

The Ogans were in town for Cooper Clinic appointments on Thursday.  Anne particularly likes to have Tex-Mex food when in Dallas – the only cuisine that they can’t find a better version of in New Orleans.  We met them at Mena’s in Carrolton and had a lovely late lunch.  They had carried a king cake all the way for us – so thoughtful.

Last Saturday was pretty typical – workout and a visit to Duino for avocado toasts.  In the afternoon, I enjoyed this New Yorker article on the fantastic pianist, Brad Mehldau:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/01/30/brad-mehldau-trades-bach-for-the-beatles

Diana dropped me off last Sunday for my flight to Mexico City for our quarterly Board of Directors meeting.  We decided it was smart to move her Tuesday flight to San Francisco up to Monday, given the increasingly bleak weather forecast for the rest of the week.    I was able to watch the first half of the NFC Championship game between the Eagles and the 49ers on the flight.

Immigration in Mexico City was remarkably smooth and quick compared to prior experiences.  After a 20 minute limo ride, I was comfortably installed in the Intercontinental El Presidente hotel.  This is the sister hotel to the one we were married at in Cozumel.

Here are views of the city from my room and the elevator lobby on the 40th floor:

The hotel is in the Polanco district – apparently the fancy part of Mexico City.  There are several excellent restaurants in the hotel, and we enjoyed an outstanding Italian meal at Alfredo di Roma on Sunday evening.  They even provided a private room with a TV so that we could enjoy the AFC Championship game.  The baby octopus (pulpitos) were yummy and the tiramisu was the best I’ve ever tasted.

There is a lot of theater in these restaurants – here Blair’s seafood pasta is being prepared:

I got up at night to adjust the thermostat and was tackled by this sculpture – those black out shades are very effective.

Our rooms came with access to the Club lounge on the 39th floor for breakfast and happy hour.  I really enjoyed their chilaquiles with verde sauce, spicy chicken and eggs in the morning, and the excellent views.

I met Jose, who runs Latin America for me, for lunch at another hotel restaurant, Au Pied de Cochon, for lunch.  The French food was very good – foie gras mousse and scallops on a bed of risotto.  We enjoyed catching up face to face over a delicious meal.

I did some work in the afternoon, and then ran into Phil, our majority shareholder, who insisted that I join him and the Board members for dinner.  Guess where that was – yep, right back at Au Pied de Cochon.  I was able to sample some other delights.  The theater continued with dry ice smoking over the oysters and table side preparation of my steak tartare.

Here I am with Jorge, who runs Operations in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras at the dinner.

The Board meetings on Tuesday were very smooth and my presentation was well received, without any tough questions.  Then it was time for my favourite meal of the trip.  We went outside the hotel for dinner at La Buena Barra.  Pablo, our local Mexico City Board member, arranged a wonderful table on the terrace.  Then he proceeded to order up some amazing appetizers – soft shell crab tacos (best thing I ate), tuna tartare tostadas, and various other treats.

I had a massive octopus for my main course, and it was perfectly cooked on top of a hot stone.

The churro dessert presentation continued the creative trend.

If you’re ever in Mexico City – this is the place to eat.  Here’s a picture of the full group enjoying the meal:

I had planned to fly back to Dallas on Wednesday afternoon, but the ice storm caused all flights to be cancelled.

There are worse places to have to spend an extra night than the Intercontinental.  Nikki and Sunil were also stuck and we decided to revisit the amazing Italian restaurant.  I tried the mushroom risotto with truffles – so good.

I headed to the airport on Thursday morning to attempt a flight to Dallas.  The ice was forecast to melt during the day and then refreeze in the evening.  I was hoping flights would get out.  But no, my flight was pushed back six or seven times with arrival scheduled after the roads would have frozen again.  Time for a plan B.  There was a direct flight to San Francisco, and I decided to go and visit Diana and Clorinda for the weekend, letting things thaw out in Dallas.

I had forwarded Diana this boarding pass, but she didn’t initially notice that it was to San Francisco.  She did ultimately notice and picked me up in the afternoon.

We invited Andy and Jude down for Happy Hour on Friday.  They insisted on bringing a bunch of yummy Italian food from a new Pacifica restaurant.  We’ve been enjoying left overs for a couple of days.

Saturday was a rainy and miserable day and the only time we ventured out was for a coffee and snack at Soul Grind.  They have a new menu item – empanadas.  I chose a mushroom one and it was delicious.  We’d love to pick this place up and move it to McKinney.

Gianluca joined Alicia, Carolina, and Lucas for art and craft time on Saturday afternoon.  They created some really pretty pieces.

In the evening, the girls (Diana, Alicia, Aimee, Caroline and Carolina) went to the Eric Lindell show at the Longboard Margarita Bar – the local dive bar where I went to watch the Cowboys at Christmas.  They had a great time.  Aimee stayed over for a slumber party and we enjoyed catching up with her.

I stayed home and hung out with Clorinda, who was very well behaved.

The Ogans made a last minute trip to Park City, Utah for some skiing.  The conditions look excellent:

In other news, Alicia started a new job as a Project Coordinator at Communiversity – a community outreach program at San Jose State.  She had an internship there, and they liked her so much that they found a funded position for her to continue.  Way to go A!

My book this week was “Lucy, by the sea” by the wonderful Elizabeth Strout.  I loved this quick read and the way it captured all the fear and uncertainty of the COVID onset.  Here’s the online summary:

“With her trademark spare, crystalline prose—a voice infused with “intimate, fragile, desperate humanness” (The Washington Post)—Elizabeth Strout turns her exquisitely tuned eye to the inner workings of the human heart, following the indomitable heroine of My Name Is Lucy Barton through the early days of the pandemic.

As a panicked world goes into lockdown, Lucy Barton is uprooted from her life in Manhattan and bundled away to a small town in Maine by her ex-husband and on-again, off-again friend, William. For the next several months, it’s just Lucy, William, and their complex past together in a little house nestled against the moody, swirling sea.

Rich with empathy and emotion, Lucy by the Sea vividly captures the fear and struggles that come with isolation, as well as the hope, peace, and possibilities that those long, quiet days can inspire. At the heart of this story are the deep human connections that unite us even when we’re apart—the pain of a beloved daughter’s suffering, the emptiness that comes from the death of a loved one, the promise of a new friendship, and the comfort of an old, enduring love.”

There are several paragraphs that I had marked to include here, but I’m getting tired.  Trust me – this is another excellent book from Strout.

I love the spare guitar sound on this one from the Teskey Bros – an excellent new band from Australia:

One of the Board Members, Matt, recommended this band after we had been discussing our musical preferences for a while:

I can’t remember how Andy and I got on the topic of Glaswegian singer, songwriter John Martyn.  Oh now I do – I was telling him about Matt sending me every live Grateful Dead show on a drive, and he mentioned a bootleg recording he got in his record store from John Martyn.

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and patience for all!

P.S. – the pilot on my United flight to San Francisco came out in the aisle and thanked everyone for flying with him.  He went on to say he had flown for United for 23 years, and for the US Air Force for 10 before that, training up multiple teams.  “You are all on my team today, and that means we treat everyone on board with kindness and respect.”  What a great representative of the airline.

“Happy New Year”

We finally made it up to Amy and Adamo’s home to exchange gifts on Monday afternoon.  Bad wind and rain was forecast for the evening and we wanted to be home before that.  It was a very strong storm, keeping us awake most of the night.  Francesca was quite pleased with her doctor kit.  She listened to our hearts, took blood pressure, gave shots as needed.  “I think you’re ok.”

We got clever gifts.  Our first matching tee shirts:

And a round jigsaw puzzle with fancy words.  They even have definitions and “use it in a sentences” inside the lid.

I took a minute to inspect the treehouse in the back yard that Adamo has been improving.  The decks and views are very impressive, with the original building needing some repair/upgrades.

Tuesday was a rainy, lazy day.  We watched the huge waves crashing on the pier from inside.  And, of course, Diana started on the jigsaw puzzle.  Thankfully, she didn’t stay up all night working on it.  It must have been Clorinda’s help that allowed completion at a regular hour.

The kids invaded in the afternoon, and opened their gifts from Grammie.

Wednesday was the first day that I had felt up to a workout – so we started our day with that.  Then we drove down to Redwood City and enjoyed a fun and delicious lunch at Pasha with Sean and Sheri.  Such good Mediterranean food, just around the corner from Will’s place.  It’s been a long time since we got to catch up with the Meeksies.

After lunch we drove over to Marco and Julie’s home to meet the new, as yet unnamed, Havanese puppy – Gianluca is pushing hard for “Yeti.”  The dog arrived on Monday – just in time to complete the move back into their home.

The Havanese is the national dog of Cuba and is part of the Bichon family.  He’s very fluffy, soft, and calm.

The move wasn’t entirely complete.  We helped Marco move Julie’s desk setup and the food from the freezer, before driving back up to Pacifica.  I did really enjoy seeing this picture that Marco’s cross country students made for him pre-surgery.

We flew home to McKinney on Friday.  This is an interesting cloud formation from the plane:

We were home just long enough to unpack, do some quick laundry, then repack for our flight to New Orleans midday Saturday.

Alex and Laura hosted the New Year’s Eve gathering this year, and it was very pleasant to be able to relax and catch up with friends that we hadn’t seen in a while.  Here are a selection of photos of the attendees:

The ladies commandeered the dining room for their private session:

Here’s our midnight selfie:

Denny was up early on New Year’s Day, making all of his oyster sauces and getting organized.

He dictated various recipes to Anne as he worked away – “In case somebody asks how they can help – I just give them the recipe card and off they go.”

You’ll notice an important note on the spinach salad card – “Do Not Ask Keith.”  That was after I spent a solid 30 minutes de-stemming the spinach leaves.

Folks started showing up around 1pm, with most leaving by 7pm or so.

The oyster shucking team did great work – Greg commenting that he hires a shucker for his parties.  Fred has some real skills, and as always, Frank was a big help.

Then it was down to the Three Musketeers – Greg, Denny, and Kenny, with the girls retiring early.  Denny was finally kicked back and relaxed.

And then it was just Denny and me.  “There’s a good show at the Maple Leaf.”  “I’m in.”  Joe Krowne was joined by an excellent drummer and amazing harmonica player.  Always a great venue to see a show.  My phone died prior to any video opportunities – it had been providing the patio soundtrack all day.

We had a lazy start into 2023 on Monday morning.  The boys left for Cooter Brown’s to watch college football games.  I opted for some more sleep, and then joined Diana and Anne at Basin Seafood for a late lunch.  We had a pleasant chat with saxophone Derek and his Mom as they arrived at the same restaurant.  The food was yummy – blue crab beignets and those wonderful little goat cheese croquettes in the beet salad.

We arrived home to a surprise.  All the guys were back, and had decided to fry the remaining oysters for po-boys.  Delicious.

Our flight home on Tuesday was a bit delayed, but overall, we continue to be lucky with our travels.

Settled at home, we started to worry about all the rain and very high wind in California.  As it turns out, we had good reason to worry.  Here’s Amy giving a tour of the damage:

And the challenges continued as the storms kept coming.  Fortunately Adamo and his crew were able to make quick work of unblocking the driveway:

I spent Saturday and part of Sunday on a bit of a silly mission.  The fluorescent light in the laundry room has been down for a while.  I replaced the bulbs and they still flickered dimly.  Time to replace the ballast.  I spent some happy time extracting it so that I could get a replacement at Home Depot.  In a call with Damon, he told me that I could get a new LED replacement unit for the same price as a ballast, and never have to replace a bulb again.  Sold!  Why didn’t I research that before all that work?

A new light unit was purchased, but now it’s smaller than the old fixture, and so the ceiling had to be painted before installation.  Next is to patch the part of the hole that sticks out.

After that fun, I moved on from playing electrician to plumber.  My Grandpa would be pleased.  Alicia’s sink has been stopping up, particularly when the A/C drains into it.  We had an A/C “expert” out again to look at it.  He gave me an illogical story, and I decided to purchase a drain snake and try to unblock it myself.  After some fun pushing and pulling the snake, and getting splattered with dirty gunk, the sink is now flowing freely.

A wobbly ceiling fan is next on the Handyman list for me.

While I was messing around with all of that, McD tackled the puzzle Mum gave her for Christmas.  Here she is 2 hours in:

And completion at the 5 hour mark.  So much patience.

Campbell was another year older on Sunday – sharing his birthday with Elvis.  He celebrated with a meal at Louisiana Purchase – a New Orleans style restaurant.  They had an alligator and andouille cheesecake, similar to the one that we enjoyed with them at Jacques-Imo’s in New Orleans.  Looks delicious.

Clorinda really enjoyed “West with Giraffes” by Lynda Rutledge, and I have it a shot these last few weeks.  Here’s the review summary:

“Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave.

It’s 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern California’s first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. Behind the wheel is the young Dust Bowl rowdy Woodrow. Inspired by true events, the tale weaves real-life figures with fictional ones, including the world’s first female zoo director, a crusty old man with a past, a young female photographer with a secret, and assorted reprobates as spotty as the giraffes.

Part adventure, part historical saga, and part coming-of-age love story, West with Giraffes explores what it means to be changed by the grace of animals, the kindness of strangers, the passing of time, and a story told before it’s too late.”

I enjoyed this passage from the book – I agree that life is all about collecting interesting stories.

“It is a foolish man who thinks stories do not matter – when in the end, they may be all that matter and all the forever we’ll ever know.  So, shouldn’t you hear our story?  Shouldn’t you know how two darling giraffes saved me, you, and your mother, a woman I loved?  And it is a selfish man who takes stories to the grave that aren’t his and his alone.  Shouldn’t you know your mother’s brave heart and daring dreams?  And shouldn’t you know your friends, even though we’re gone?

I knew, then, there was something an old man could do.  I found a pencil and I began to write.”

I found this tale a bit slow at times, but did really enjoy the history of the Depression era and the Dust Bowl challenges in the Texas Panhandle and Oklahoma.

Let’s start out with some classic Stevie Wonder:

And continue on with some classic funk:

Finishing up with some Aretha:

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and compassion for all!

“Christmas is Here”

John and family joined us again on Monday for brunch.  I loved watching Lilly assemble a meat and cheese platter, and then, without any prompting, creating a plate for Grammie.

On Wednesday evening, Diana and Alicia drove down to San Jose for a special “Cousins Christmas”, hosted by Joelle.  I made Clorinda a dinner that she wolfed down, and then described as “fine.”  She asked where Diana was.  I tried to tell her but she couldn’t hear me.  Ahh – I’ll use the notepad.  “Who’s Tooey?”  Good grief.  Finally, the lower case version worked.  “Why weren’t we invited?”  “It’s only for cousins.”  “But I’m a cousin.”  So entertaining.

The girls had a nice time at their exclusive event:

Thursday was the anniversary of the night that Will and Christine got engaged in San Francisco.  Diana and I had dinner at the Tadich Grill that night, next door to where the newly engaged couple was celebrating.  Will suggested that we all have dinner at the Tadich to celebrate.  What a great idea!

The restaurant was nicely decorated and I always like the old school white dinner jackets on the waiters and bar staff.

The seafood was just as wonderful and fresh as we remembered – oysters Rockefeller, lobster, petrale sole, cioppino, sea bass.  What a feast!

We celebrated the Robertson family Christmas on Friday evening.  Diana did a great job of putting together the first of three dinners in a row.  Alicia’s stuffed mushrooms were yummy.  I contributed a tiny bit to the rack of lamb – finding the recipe and helping set them up to marinade.

Dinner was very well received all around.

Campbell enjoyed his Mardi Gras themed gifts, and Clorinda wrestled her very large candle open:

Thanks Diana and Alicia for all the cooking and cleaning.

The Cowboys played on Christmas Eve, and the San Francisco 49ers played at the same time.  Diana and Alicia were gracious enough to offer me the home TV, and they would go to the bar.  I thought it would be a better idea for me to watch from the dive bar – the Longboard Margarita Bar – one of Pacifica’s finest.

A couple of friends were there to watch with me.

The Philly cheesesteak guy showed up and set up his station outside the bar.  Yum!

This sign made me chuckle:

There was a nice crowd of folks in the bar, including one Cowboys fan, Mike.  The 49ers fans were quite loud, but we had fun together.  And the Cowboys were able to eke out a win against the league rival Philadelphia Eagles.

The Saturday evening sunset was amazing – all the reds and oranges that made me think of our Cozumel wedding sunset.

Then it was time for another feast.  This time the pseudo feast of the seven fishes – angel hair pasta with anchovy sauce, and a bouillabaisse with excellent mussels and other seafood.  Adamo and family joined us, along with surprise guests Ken and Barbara, and Andy and Jude.  It was a lovely evening and we were all remiss in our photography – probably a sign of a good night.  The only picture I got was Frankie showing her manners, while serving me up a nice tea party.

Christmas morning started with Timmy sharing his creative reindeer and candy cane breakfast.

Clorinda enjoyed her new swiveling patio chairs and particularly her new, warm jammies.

I think Grammie enjoyed opening Alicia’s stocking just as much as she did.

Then Diana and Alicia were back in the kitchen for the third big feast in a row – lamb and ham this time around.  Marco and Giancarlo and families arrived and the festivities got underway.

Marco was delighted to finally get the Sorel boots he’d been hoping for 40 years ago.

It’s always heartwarming to see Clorinda enjoying a visit from her family.

Thanks once again to Diana and Alicia for all the time in the kitchen over the three day marathon.

In other news:  Raj sent me this delightful video of what happens when Pakistan and Scotland collaborate – the sound is really different and top quality:

And Vince sent this treat on Frank Zappa’s birthday.  Such a creative musician and excellent guitar player:

One of our project managers in Guatemala sent this out.  We are all on edge during our busiest days of the year, with most of the team on vacation:

My book this week was “Walking with Ghosts” by Gabriel Byrne, the Dublin born actor, best known for is roles in “The Usual Suspects” and “In Treatment.”

I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir, finishing it in just over a day.  This review captures my thoughts well:

“In pared down prose both luminous and raw, Walking with Ghosts is about first things–parents, siblings, loves, heartbreaks, parts, failure, success, loss, but most of all it is a tender embrace of the past as Byrne discovers and accepts the truth of who he is in all his human struggle to be at peace with oneself and one’s imperfections. In a voice full of warmth, compassion, humor, and wonder, Byrne steps into the role of writer with the same assurance, humility, and intensity that he brings to his acting roles. More, this debut marks a welcome new voice that blends memory and imagination for an all-encompassing and wise memoir that reads like a novel.”

Speaking to his mother at the end of the book:

“I sat by the bed. You were smaller, the roots of your hair showing through the dye.  I thought of the gratitude I owed for what you had given me.  Your love of poetry, your love of the sound of words.  Yeats, Robert Burns.  Your favourite quote was from Shelley.  “Fear not the future, weep not for the past.”  I try to live by that still.

That last time we sat in a crowded room at a party, you recited Keats:

“O what can ail thee, knight at arms,

Alone and palely loitering?

The sedge has wither’d from the lake,

And no birds sing.”

Everyone applauded and I realized maybe you had missed your career, that you might have been an actress or a performer of some kind, because you were so alive and so happy in that moment.

Had marriage and children been enough?”

Highly recommended!

An excellent solo piano rendition by Dr. John:

I Shazamed this in Thom’s Market in Austin, and was disappointed with myself – I love that album:

What a great rhythm and feel on this one:

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and compassion for all!

“Going to California”

Week Ending December 11th:

When I left you last week, we were headed to see a concert at the Kessler.  Marcia Ball, Carolyn Wonderland, and Shelley King, affectionately known as King Wonderball, shared some excellent Xmas and holiday themed music.

Jens and Glenda joined us.  We enjoyed dinner at Paradiso in the Bishop Arts area and all thoroughly enjoyed the show.

The highlight of the show for me and Diana was this cover of The Band’s “Christmas Must be Tonight”.  It took us a few days to get the chorus out of our heads.  Such a great song!

Here’s the original version:

The show reminded me of the impromptu birthday concert that Diana arranged for me in Austin a few years ago.  We were only expecting Shelley King, and then the other two showed up to jam.  That was the night we met the two wonderful Aussie couples.

I missed the Cowboys versus Indianapolis game due to the show.  And what a game that turned out to be.  The Boys won 54-19 with a massive 4th quarter.  Campbell had texted during the show that Dak didn’t look too great.  Well – that all changed at the end of the game with 33 points in the last 15 minutes.  The defense and Tony Pollard were amazing.

After my doctor visit on Monday morning, I helped McD rake and bag way too many leaves from our massive oak tree.  There has to be a better way for next year.  It took us a collective five hours to complete the task.  99% of the leaves are now off all trees – Diana has been busy emptying out the pool skimmers and Stanley’s (the pool sweep) bag.

Penelope’s brake pad warning light came on and Diana was kind enough to pick me up and drop me off at Auto Hans to get them replaced on Tuesday.  Always a hefty hit on the wallet.

By mid week, both of us were coughing up a storm with some kind of cold/flu bug that we haven’t quite beaten yet.

We finished up Christmas shopping at Cost Plus World Market on Friday – they always have some unique and different stocking stuffers.  After that we dropped off jewelry at Tiffany’s for cleaning, and enjoyed a delicious lunch at Tommy Bahama’s.  My Thai curry shrimp and scallops and crab bisque were delicious.  We always forget what a good place this is.

The World Cup has been very entertaining this week.  I particularly enjoyed the underdog stories with Croatia besting the favourite, Brazil, and Morocco playing a wonderful game to beat Portugal, and become the first African nation to advance to the semi-finals.

We were back at the Kessler on Saturday night for Marc Broussard.

Jon Muq, a young man from Uganda, was the opening act.  He had wonderful intra-song banter and a very smooth voice.  He was very excited to announce that he had recently been signed to Dan Auerbach’s record label.

Marc Broussard and his band were excellent.  A much better experience than the last time he played the Kessler – it was all standing downstairs that night and very noisy.

I had an early start to attend the Cowboys game on Sunday morning, and so we decided to stay at the Doubletree hotel – pick up point for the bus to the game.

A vendor took several of us from work to the game, including a lovely brunch at a new hotel by the stadium.

I lost track of how many compliments I got on the special Cowboys jacket that Diana made me for the Saints game, several years ago.

The Cowboys tried very hard to lose the game to the Texans, pulling out an exciting last minute win.  Tim and Robbie joined us back at the house for a small celebration after party.  Thanks Diana for leaving us a meat and cheese platter before heading out for the day.

While I was at the game, Diana and Janelle enjoyed brunch and the Dallas Symphony Christmas Pops concert.  Don’t get her started on what shouldn’t be included in a “Christmas” concert.

Phew – that was a busy week.

Here are a few pictures from California that I enjoyed.  Grammie on the loose in Target:

Marco and his friend Jessica posing by the Golden Gate Bridge – he looks better and better every day:

Will with some artificial intelligence app that doctors his pictures:

Week Ending December 18th:

Christmas gift exchange with Finn was on Monday night.  He was delighted with his stocking and the new coffee table that I labored so hard to assemble for him.  He had some very thoughtful gifts for us.  I laughed at my “Nope” Sunday t-shirt and our new penguin blankie.

The penguin key ring has a great message:

Diana has rarely taken off her penguin slippers since:

What a lovely night we had with Finn.

I dropped Diana at the Cooper Clinic early on Tuesday for her full head to toe physical appointment.  She’ll be happy to tell you that she accomplished a “Superior” score on the heart stress test – one of only twelve this year.

After that, we made the drive down to Austin for my work holiday party at Bar Peached, a creative restaurant on West 6th street.  Some folks were very festively dressed, including Tim:

We enjoyed the Nido rooftop restaurant when the party ended, staying out way too late for old folks.

I went to the office for a while on Wednesday and Diana met up with Lisa for a Mediterranean lunch.  I chuckled as a colleague reported back that he had spotted them going out for a “coffee” on the patio.  In fairness, there is coffee on the table.

We had an early fancy birthday dinner for Diana in the evening.  The bar at Jeffrey’s was perfect – a lovely setting with wonderful food.  Steak tartare amuse bouches, foie gras, duck with seared foie gras, and pork with lobster, finished up with a chocolate granache desert – all very decadent indeed.

After the traditional lunch at June’s All Day, we made the drive back to McKinney on Thursday afternoon.  We had time for a quick unpack and pack again for the flight to San Francisco on Friday afternoon.  And then it was time for our Christmas gift exchange.  I think we did very well with our stockings and gifts – much more sensible than trying to cart gifts to San Francisco.  Diana loved the fuzzy Christmas pants from Ogan Enterprises in New Orleans.

I watched an excellent movie, “The Swearing Jar” on the flight.  A very emotional tale that was wonderfully acted.

Sunday was Diana’s birthday, and we were treated to a visit from John and Joey and their families.  It was very sweet of them to make the drive up to celebrate with us.

The kids were a delight and wonderfully behaved.  Lilly made a card for Diana based on what Alicia had told her were her favourite things.  I love the “Itfulle tower” with the Koala climbing up.

Clorinda enjoyed having the kids around:

Brianna really has some flower arranging talent:

Caroline had a yummy lemon bar as a cake for the birthday girl:

Diana had such a lovely time!

My reading companion this week was “Like a Rolling Stone” by Jann S. Wenner.

Rolling Stone founder, co-editor, and publisher Jann Wenner offers a “touchingly honest” and “wonderfully deep” memoir from the beating heart of classic rock and roll (Bruce Springsteen).

I only made it a couple of hundred pages into this massive volume, so will save some more commentary for when I finish it up back in McKinney.

We’ve had a lot of music already, so I’ll skip that section this week.

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and compassion for all.