January 9, 2023 – Keith Robertson

“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.