“Happy Easter”
Diana flew to San Francisco for Easter on Monday, and I joined on Thursday afternoon. Julie celebrated her 50th birthday a few days earlier, and I was put to work on Clorinda’s “labor of love” – rolling up 50 dollar bills and bow tying them on to a necklace. What a finnicky project. It did look good when completed.
The weather was mostly very nice, and we were able to get out for some walks on Gypsy Hill. Somebody has entirely too much energy on those walks:
Clorinda and I got to enjoy the sun on the deck, and enjoy the view for a while in the afternoon.
John and Maddie’s 5 year old son, Ben, was out showcasing his amazing swing on the golf course – he might be even better at golf than he is at baseball. College scouts pay attention!
Andy and Jude (best neighbours ever) came over on Friday afternoon. It’s always so much fun to hang out with them. Alicia and her friend Yenni put together an impressive appetizer display – particularly Yenni’s fruit arrangement.
Easter Sunday dinner was quite the feast – lobsters from Adamo’s recent diving expedition, and our gorgonzola lamb chop lollipops – been way too long since we made those.
And Julie got to wear the “labor of love” necklace.
Diana and Alicia posed for some pictures – D looking like a teenager with Alicia’s funny hat.
Caroline recommended a “new” walk for us – along the levee by Sharp Park golf course. Diana had never been there in all her Pacifica years. This was a pleasant, well maintained trail by the beach and up into the hills.
I flew back to Dallas on Tuesday – the first day of masks not being required for air travel. It was interesting to observe about 70% of folks with masks in San Francisco airport and maybe 10% at best in Dallas.
I enjoyed a long walk to Duino for coffee on Thursday afternoon. Ended up being more than 6 miles – a bit more than I had bargained on.
I dropped the VW Atlas off at Discount Tire to get the wheels balanced on Thursday, and Finn picked me up there and took me to lunch at Mexican Cactus – those tacos are so good. The tire guys called me at lunch to say they couldn’t find the wheel nut locking adapter anywhere. Nothing’s easy. I ended up having to pick up a new one at the dealership – must not have replaced it when they powder coated the wheel rims. The wheels did get balanced ultimately on Friday, and I found an interesting sub-woofer mounted on top of the spare tire when replacing the tool. I had no idea it was in there.
Diana and Alicia spent Saturday down in San Jose and McD enjoyed one of her staples – steak tartare at the Left Bank at Santana Row.
My first book was “Whiteout” by Ken Follett. I don’t remember reading Follett before, other than the “On Wings of Eagles” EDS Iran hostage rescue story, and really enjoyed this tale. Set in a castle in northern Scotland that has been converted into a medical research facility, the story revolves around a plot to steal a deadly virus from the lab during a blizzard.
There is a lot of family drama involved as the owner of the laboratory gathers with this extended family to celebrate Christmas. I’ll have to try some other Follett books.
My next book was “Mother, May I” by Joshilyn Jackson. Here’s the online summary:
“Growing up poor in rural Georgia, Bree Cabbat’s single mother warned her that the world was a dark and scary place. Bree rejected her mother’s fearful outlook, and life has proved her right. Marrying into a family with wealth, power, and connections, Bree has all a woman could ever dream: a loving lawyer husband, two talented young teenage daughters, a new baby boy, a gorgeous home, and every opportunity in the world – until the day Bree awakens and sees a witch peering into her bedroom window, an old gray-haired woman all dressed in black who vanishes as quickly as she appears.”
The witch ends up being the mother of a woman who was badly wronged by Bree’s lawyer husband many years ago. As she is terminal with cancer, she decides to exact revenge by kidnapping their baby. A decent, quick read, but nothing to rave about.
I enjoy reading the “5 Albums I Can’t Live Without” article in Spin magazine – similar to Desert Island Disks. This week included a rave about this album by Larry Goldings – hadn’t ever heard his music, but really like this stuff. The organ creeping in part way through is excellent:
Spotify took me on a trip through similar music as I enjoyed some quiet reading time. This was a highlight of the mix – Mehldau is so creative with such an excellent touch on the piano:
And finally, a classic I heard on the soundtrack to an HBO series that I was watching last night:
Stay safe, patient and kind to everyone!