“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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
My reading companion this week was “Like a Rolling Stone” by Jann S. Wenner.
My first book this week was “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin. Here’s the online summary:
My second book this week was “Less is Lost” by Andrew Sean Greer. This is the follow up to the Pulitzer Prize winning “Less” – a book I loved a few years ago.