Friday Randomness
Quick one this week, for whatever reason. Mostly because it’s Thursday afternoon as I write this and we have a reservation for dinner in a couple of hours and I need to get ready.
New Skin
We’re getting a facelift around here, and our unit’s turn begins on Monday. It will be loud and dirty as they remove the shingles, then a couple of weeks of mess and noise as they install the new siding. Here’s the before on the left (our unit) and the after on the right (a neighbor’s unit). Wish us luck.
Wisteria Season is Fleeting but Beautiful
The wisteria is blooming and turning to leaves before my eyes. Such a fleeting season.
Every Season is Bullshit Season
Serious bullshit. We were as upset as everyone else to read about Chavez and his abuse bullshit. It reminds me (again, again) of 2018 and the #metoo phenomenon, when men I knew and respected were surprised that every woman they knew had at least one #metoo moment. Not all assaulted, but all had stories to tell of bullshit they’d had to deal with, at work, or at home, or walking down the fucking street, or whatever. I was shocked that they were shocked.
Also in the bullshit category, I am thankful that we don’t use much cash these days, since Trump’s signature is set to be on U.S. Currency. Will it just be the dollar bill, or all paper cash? I don’t know. I don’t want it in my wallet though.
War in Iran = High Prices
I’m hoping to take a big trip this fall. My dream is Paris at least, perhaps more. We’re worried that Trump and Iran are going to make that unaffordable, but we’re not giving up hope yet. Get your shit together, assholes. (As if.)
Birthday Dinner
Maya turns 30 on Sunday, and we have begun celebrating. Last night was dinner at Chez Panisse Cafe. The chef, Alice Waters, is the founder of the farm to table movement in the US, and we’ve always kind of wanted to go, but never quite pulled the trigger. The main restaurant downstairs is one meal, everyone gets the same thing, with exceptions made for vegetarians (meaning they have a vegetarian option, but every vegetarian gets the same thing). You make your reservation a month ahead of time, and find out the week of your reservation what the meal will be. That sounded risky to us with all of the dietary restrictions around here. The Cafe upstairs has a menu you can pick from, and it’s less expensive, so we decided to go there. Luckily we were able to get a reservation on relatively short notice. I’m happy to report now, writing after we got home, that it was absolutely delicious.
Ted has to work today, and Maya and I are going to Berkeley to sell come clothes at a consignment store, and have a nice lunch and ogle books. Tomorrow is a family party, a joint party with Maya and her 4 year old cousin Sloan, whose birthday was last week. We’re having a brunch theme this year. Sunday is her actual birthday, and we’re not sure what’s on the agenda yet. Lazy day? Busy day? Time with friends? No idea. Hopefully it won’t be like her 2020 Covid birthday where she forced us to watch Twilight movies.
30 Comments
Sarah
Oooooh I love the new siding! Happy birthday to Maya– sounds like some great celebrations on tap.
J
Thanks Sarah!
Birchie
Happy Birthday Maya! What I’m hearing is that it’s been 6 years since you’ve seen the Twilight movies so you’re due…jk.
J
SHUT UP
AC
Sorry about what women have to put up with.
I hope the trip pans out.
J
Thanks John, on both fronts.
Sam
I’ve always wanted to try Chez Panisse! Hope it’s tasty and Maya has a great birthday weekend.
J
It was delicious!
Margaret
Happy Birthday to Maya! Although 30 was a big one for me, I had a two month old baby at the time. I don’t remember any celebrations. Since I’ll soon be 70, I want a medium size party for that one! I would love to try that restaurant and want to hear more about what you ate, when you have more time. Although I love the look of those shingles, the new siding is probably more practical and easy to maintain.
J
Your wish is my command, I will have a post about the restaurant. Short story is that everything was delicious.
The shingles do have their fans, don’t they? We don’t really like them, though they are popular up in Tahoe. Actually, shingles are popular all over, but I prefer them painted so they don’t look so worn. The siding will be a lot less flamable, which is a good thing.
Michelle G.
The new siding looks like it’ll be lovely, and hopefully the workers will get the job done quickly! Ooooh, the beautiful picture of the Wisteria! And then that meme of the smoking woman made me choke with laughter! And then I was irritated because….uggggghhhhh.
I hope you all have a lovely birthday party!
J
Thanks Michelle! Yeah, that meme was hilarious and infuriating, right?
Nicole MacPherson
The new siding looks great! I love the colour.
Happy birthday to Maya! 30! What a great age!
J
Yes, I like the color a lot too. 30 is a great age for sure. I hope she has a great year ahead.
Ernie
The new siding looks so clean and sleek. It will be loud. We get a new roof April 15th so we will be in the IT’S SO LOUD BUT NECESSARY boat too.
Happy birthday Maya! Oof- I would not have survived Covid if forced to watch Twilight movies. That restaurant feeding everyone the same thing – sounds intriguing and yet familiar, oh – maybe because that’s like dinner in my kitchen. ?
J
LOL, yes, like being at home, right? Here’s dinner, eat it. Except they charge $175 per person, plus tax and tip and beverages. (Oh, and the food is beautiful and well thought out and delicious, but still…that’s a lot to pay and what if they are serving asparagus and you don’t like it?) That’s why we went upstairs to the cafe, which was not cheap, but SO MUCH less than that.
Suzanne
I have heard of Chez Panisse, but the restrictive menu would make me so anxious! I need choices!!! Happy birthday to Maya! The new siding looks great. I hope the installation goes smoothly and you love the result.
J
I know, there’s so much TRUST and ZEN in giving yourself over to whatever the menu will be, right? The meals do look amazing, but I’m not sure if I can spend that much and not be able to decide what I want to eat.
nance
Oooh, Chez Panisse! I had no idea that her menu was so restrictive. Good choice opting for the cafe instead.
What is it about our families that our birthdays coincide? Jared–my eldest–celebrates his birthday today, March 28th! So close. He is more than a decade out from 30, however. Maya is well-commemorated with all these nice events.
I’m disgusted and dismayed by the news of the felon-in-chief putting his name on currency now. He is so narcissistic and vain, it’s pathetic. I cannot wait until his time is over and his name is taken off of everything he slapped it onto. How very small he is. 86/47
No signs of wisteria here yet. We returned to winter for a few days, but I managed to steal the first blooms of my neighbour’s narcissus (Lent lilies) again from the side of our driveway. They don’t even know they’re there.
J
There is a part of me that would like to throw caution to the wind and just order and eat at Chez Panisse, but I have trouble getting past the price. Ted has a lot of restrictions, which he would probably eat around or eat anyway (depending on what they were) and Maya would likely set her aversions aside and eat whatever vegetarian option they gave her. But that’s a lot of money for that kind of compromise, right? So yes, cafe for us. It was really good.
Happy Birthday to Jared! I hope there is cake on the menu today.
UGH regarding Trump. You know who puts their face on money? MONARCHS and DICTATORS. The narcissism is exhausting, and of course if putting his damn name on the money meant he would stop EVERYTHING ELSE, I’d be all for it. But it doesn’t.
I’m glad you got some blossoms from your neighbors!
Elisabeth
I LOVE the aesthetic of the new siding. It looks so sleek and sophisticated. And it’s just… fun to have an upgrade from time to time.
The birthday celebrations sound wonderful (and delicious).
J
Thanks Elisabeth! The shingles are old and not well maintained, so it was time. Lots of work, lots of money unfortunately. If I could have chosen I would have rather spent my money on a new kitchen, but this needed to be done.
Melissa
Dinners at Kangaroo Island were all set, but with a vegetarian option. One night, on the normal menu, they had oysters, which we don’t eat, so they swapped out our first course for the vegetarian option. I love set menus, but I don’t have any dietary restrictions and can eat most foods.
I hope your trip happens. Our tickets to Europe in September are through Dubai, so we’ll see what happens. Flights to Europe from Australia generally go via Asia or the Middle East, but tickets via Asia are now super expensive. We will probably have to try to reroute if this mess continues—if there is enough fuel to fly. Our daughter is flying Qatar in August, so we’ll see what happens there. Bigger issues are petrol and diesel supplies here. We’ll see where things sit in a month. I’m not sure why the orange man thinks that his so-called “allies” should come help him in a mess entirely of his own making when he is constantly shafting them.
J
I think we should have gone to Chez Panisse 10 or 15 years ago, when none of us had any dietary restrictions. But we can’t go back and tell ourselves that, and if it’s too expensive now, it really was with the jobs we had then. But we had a great time and a delicious meal.
Stupid orange man is such an idiot. Grrr.
Jenny
I hope Maya is enjoying her birthday!!! I think you’ll be happy with the new siding- once it’s finished. It sounds like it’ll be a little unpleasant while they’re working on it.
Wow- $175 is a LOT to pay when you don’t even get to choose the meal!!! I can see why you went with the other option. Glad you enjoyed it.
J
I am seldom glad that we don’t have a dog, but OMG, Mulder would have lost his shit if he were here while they were tearing off shingles. I think we would have left him with a neighbor for the day, like we did when we got new windows. Or else I would have taken him to a dog friendly internet cafe.
NGS
The absolute DEVASTATION when I heard about Chavez. It was like when I learned Alexie Sherman is a creep. Why are men consistently disappointing?!?!
One of the reasons we are putting off some very needed home repairs is because of Hannah. She hates workers and I don’t know where we could drop her off every day. Our friends take her now and then, but we need a total bathroom remodel and I just don’t know if that’s going to happen while we have her. Oh, well. We’ll just keep saving our pennies until then.
J
SO disappointing. UGH.
I hope you have plenty of time to save up for your bathroom remodel. Remodels are SO disruptive. I am looking forward to it being finished, but not tomorrow morning.
Stephany
Ooh, the new siding is SO PRETTY. I hope the renovation process isn’t too much of a distraction for you.
A restrictive menu like that would NOT be good for me. I am such a picky eater! I know it’s very fun for people who are more adventurous, though.
J
I love that they have the cafe so folks can have options. If a self-described ‘picky eater’ were to go to the downstairs restaurant, they might end up LOVING the food, but I suspect the anxiety ahead of time would make it not worth it.