Dogs eat Whipped Cream?

Scarlett does....she comes running when she hears the noise from the can of whipped cream....silly dog.

Learning Something New

Miss Donna has kindly been teaching me how to make baby quilts....or little blankets. I have been spending a small fortune on baby gifts, and am surrounded by fertile couples. Dave says it is so much better than store bought because you can personalize them. It's been ages since I've used my sewing machine....which Donna can attest to, I couldn't remember how to thread the machine, did it incorrectly, and spent a long time ripping out my first pass at binding.

To make matters a bit more challenging, my right thumb went numb and my forearm and wrist were feeling numb and pain...carpel? lazy surfing? pinched whatever? Or could it be my age? So many possibilities. And the fabric that I selected is really tough to get the needle through along with the double yarn. I had to get Dave's pliers to pull the needle through. They are now complete (we made 2) and really cute...as long as you don't look to closely at my horrible sewing. But I plan on practicing until I can be as good as Miss Donna and her sister, Annette, at making the blankets.

Tasty Beginnings

We tried something a little different this year. To copy Margaret, we went with dried fruit and nuts. We used a lovely plate from Donna & Bret with plate liners that look just like leaves.

Black Friday

BARTed in to the city with the Magic Couple to walk around, look at the window decorations, perhaps shop.  The kids helped us with the ticket machines.  They're just quicker and have better eye sight....age is a slippery slope that we're skidding down.

We never found great store windows at Union Square...we looked, but there was nothing special about them.  We also did not see one single Santa.  Everything has been sanitized of Christmas.  The only thing left is the buying.  And there really didn't appear to be a whole lot of that going on.  It just wasn't as busy as it has been in the past.

If you haven't been to the Westfield center (new name) at the Powell Street station, you really should go by.  The food court is amazing.  We didn't eat there because it was way to busy.  We did go up to the dome and eat at the high end Mexican restaurant.  Very tasty.

Terrific Turkey Day

It was wonderful and everyone had a great time.  The new recipes turned out fabulous.

The only downside was Wills, aka son-in-law, skunked us all in Rummikube (sp?).  And I mean he spanked us all.  He's either super lucky, or just much better than the three of us.

I am so glad to have a daughter

Jessica put all the finishing touches on the table.  She had some patching to do since we do not have enough of anything to set a table for 10.  She's taking notes on what to possibly buy us for Christmas.  She went from thinking we had everything, to figuring out we barely had anything.  It's sad that she must bring things to complete her parents kitchen and entertaining.  But then again, she had several wedding showers and a wedding, and her parents had none.

Happy Pre-Thanksgiving!

Son-in-Law (aka Wills) preparing the turkey

Not too sure why this is side-ways...I thought I fixed it up before I up loaded, obviously I have missed a step. But I'm sure Wills can tell me what went went wrong.

We put our new kitchen through the paces today. And can I say that there is nothing quite like having adult children to carry the load.Jessica and Wills came over just after three and we cooked until 6:30. We're trying a few new recipe, plus it's tough when you only do this every once in a while. Since we've been in exile for so long, it's been at least three years since we cooked. Everything smells so good!

Dinner in the City

I'm feeling so cosmopolitan.....I BARTed in to San Francisco with Heather to meet up with her twin sister, Dawn, and eat dinner and then do a little shopping....in the middle of the week...on the spur of the moment....on a school, er work night! How fun is that?

Dawn picked the place, Tres Agaves, near the Ball Park. The whole place looks really cool at night...we went down this street that looked so quaint and Eastern...Dawn said it is called South Park...way cool.

So I am the oldest person in this place...it's really dark, so I just picked out something in large letters. The waitress comes by for the drink orders and starts telling us about the Tequila...describing it like wine. Everything was very tasty...yes, even the tequila...although I can not tell you what it was..other than it was the tequila of the month.

We wandered through the Westfield Mall...it looks nothing like I remember...and went in to a few stores, including Furla (which has nothing like the Italy stores) and Bristol Farms (a bit like Draeger's). I don't know why we don't do this more often, it was fun.

And it was really nice to spend some time catching up with Heather.....the only PhD Chemist I could possibly ever know. I'm so proud of her and how grown up she has become. And Dawn is wonderful too (a pharmacist for Genentech). Bet nobody thought I knew such intelligent people.

Lovely Day of Riding

Today is one of those days that make you glad to live in California.  The sun is shining, warm, no wind, and plenty of roads.  Although the state could have taken better care of the roads.

We met up with our buddies, Donna and Bret, at the Shell station.  We gassed up the bikes and took off to meet up with two more couples in Modesto.  The hour ride was great....hot air balloons up in the clear windless sky, it was so warm riding over the Altamont Pass....one of the few times we weren't blown all over the place when we headed south on 5 to 132...that area is generally so windy it makes it a bit of a challenge to keep the bike going straight.

All 5 bikes went along on the ride to the Sierra Foothills.  We stopped in Coulterville to remove the chaps and jacket liners, and switch to lighter gloves.  Then we headed on the Little Dragon, Highway 49 to Mariposa.  We had a delicious lunch at the Happy Burger Diner, one of our favorite stops.

We all returned home safely with sore butts and smiles on our face...a successful day!

Homecoming

If you have never witnessed one of our community homecomings for a returning military member, you are missing a great deal. Our local newspaper, The Pleasanton Weekly, does a fabulous job of writing articles about the homecomings and the people involved.

Friday night we attended a homecoming in the Morgan Territory, at the home of Sgt. Meylan, for her 29th birthday.  Even though the Morgan Territory is only miles from downtown, it feels as if you're way out in the country.  We drove to the house with our friend, Jan Miller, and she couldn't figure out where she was....and I think she had been there before.  The wind does swirl and howl out there too, so you might want to wear a hat or scarf if you end up there!

There were about 40 motorcycles that escorted the Sgt.'s car home.  This is quite a sight...to see the Patriot Guard wind through the hills for a long stretch.

We may never had attended the homecomings if it were not for our friend's, Jan and Doug Miller, being so involved.  We're glad we know them.  It gives you a grateful and patriotic feeling to attend.  Plus, we reconnect with many people that we met through our children as we were involved in sports, school, church, etc.

Don't pass up the opportunity to attend one of these homecomings.

Mission Accomplished Party

The Ladies add a few finishing touches before the party begins



Granny gives the Magic Couple their Wedding Quilt



A few of our friends and family enjoying the new patio

Pressure to Blog

We're feeling pressure to write something interesting....trouble is, our daily life is boring. Not that we're complaining, boring is a pleasant change from our year in exile. Today Dave figured out that we moved three times in less than one year's time.

Our construction punch list is dwindling down to a few annoying items. Our gas fireplace sometimes fails to light. And we're really loving our gas fireplace. At the flip of the remote (when it works) the logs are lit and the room gets toasty in nothing flat. It looks real too.

Not really why, but after a couple of hours in a 5th grade classroom, Edie is exhausted. She's pretty much just filing papers for Jessica, but she comes home spent. It could be the level of activity in the room, not anything like what she's used to. She did learn a little about clouds from Jessica working with the class on their 5 paragraph non-fiction stories. Today she brought In-n-Out burgers, fries, and soda for lunch...always an adventure.

We picked up the Mercedes from the dealer. Please explain how you go from the service rep saying that we really are not due for service, to an $1,800 bill. Is it time for something new?

The weather has been spectacular....we're planning on riding this weekend....hope Edie's bike starts, it's been so long since she's taken it out for a ride.

Back to Scrapping

Today was my first day back at Diane's for scrapping...all is well with the world. I'm feeling overwhelmed and very behind. This is not good for my limited creative juices. To add more pressure, Creative Memories is discontinuing the albums that I have been using, and have plenty of stockpiled supplies to use. So I must complete all my projects or else I may not be able to get the necessary supplies to complete them at a later date. Stress, stress, stress...it's so tough being me.

I did complete Paris, so now I'm off to the Louire Valley....I can barely remember the trip!

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

Unless you're voting for the other guy....then just stay home.