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Happy Birthday Dad!
Today is my Dad’s 70th birthday, and this is us back in 1988, when he was a few years younger than I am now. Crazy. I met my dad for the first time in 1987, when I was 21, and then in January of ’88, I flew up to Portland to visit him and meet my sisters, who are twins. The story of why we didn’t meet before, and how we did end up finally meeting, is a long one, and if you’re so inclined, you can find it here. My dad is a wonderful man, a great person, and a fabulous father. He’s been involved in the counter culture…
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Rules of Civility
Graphic found on the New York Times review of the book, here. The preface of Amor Towles Rules of Civility finds our heroine, Katey, and her husband attending the opening of a photography exhibit in Manhattan, in 1966. The exhibit is of photographs taken with a hidden camera on the subways, some 25 years before. She is stunned to find, amongst all of the other photographs, two of a man she recognizes, Tinker Grey. In the first picture, he is wearing a custom shirt and a cashmere coat, and is clearly enjoying life. In the second, taken perhaps a year later, he looks as though he hasn’t had enough to…
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Jocelyn’s Balsamic Vinaigrette
Picture found here. That salad looks mighty good…it’s pear, walnut, greens, tomatoes, red bell peppers, and feta cheese. Always one to give credit where credit is due, here’s a recipe for a delicious vinaigrette that I especially like with an herby salad. Really easy, really good. Many years ago, in the late 90s, I worked with Cherry and Dorothy (who used to be my blog friends, but Dorothy quit hers, and Cherry blogs even less often that I do, as she works many hours and has 2 little ones….1 of whom is almost 1! I also worked with Don, who is NOT my blog friend, but he’s a good guy,…
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In Defense of Charles
I know there are plenty of you out there who could not care less about the Royal Family, the Royal Baby, any of it. Move along, I’m sure there are plenty of blogs out there talking about important things. Or silly things. Or interesting things. Something that interests you while this does not. For anyone that is still here, I have noticed a lot of Charles bashing in the American Press these last few days/weeks. Everyone wants to know if William and Kate will raise Prince George in the method of dear departed Diana, or in the method of evil bad guy Charles, with the majority of support going towards…
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Growing Up
Of course, Maya has been growing up for over 17 years now. Seeing the Royal Baby in the news reminds me of how little my own baby once was. I remember, sometimes fondly, how sweet and dependent she once was. And now…now she’s 17, with a driver’s license, going to appointments and the grocery store on her own. Taking the train into Berkeley to see a movie with her friends. I confess to being a bit over-protective. I make her appointments for her, pick up her prescriptions for her, that kind of thing. She could do these things for herself, and probably she should. She needs to be ready when…
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Friday Randomness
OK, it’s been awhile, so let’s just dive in, OK? Last weekend, we went to a party that was held at the clubhouse of a fairly unique condo complex. I was in love, and Ted was in love on my behalf. This particular condo complex includes about 80 townhouses, 2 to 3 bedrooms, right on the border of Mt. Diablo. What makes this complex different is that they have stables right there on site, for approximately 40 horses. They also have people hired to clean stalls, and they feed the horses. They also have 4 riding areas, one covered, and an area where you train your horse on a lead.…
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The Way Way Back
“The Way Way Back” is a summer coming of age movie, in which Duncan and his mom, her newish boyfriend and his daughter, go to his beach house to spend the summer. Gosh, how can anyone in their 40s afford to take the summer off from work, aside from (perhaps) school teachers, who are generally out of work all summer anyway? Yes, we thought that. Let it go. Duncan is about as awkward as a teen without braces and glasses and a neck-gear can possibly be. He desperately needs his father, but his father is out of the picture, and he’s stuck with a toad in the body of Steve…
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20 Years!
Wow….20 years ago today, Ted and I were married. I used to say it didn’t feel that long, but I guess I’m feeling older now, and the details sometimes fade a bit. Funny how that happens. What I do remember is that it was a very hot day, that we were surrounded by family and friends wishing us well, and that it was a lot of fun. I remember at the end of the ceremony, wanting to do it all over again! Then there was the reception, which was a LOT of fun, and I’ve not been to another wedding with so much dancing, or such a lovely view. The…
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Janet’s Banana Bread
(photo found along with recipe, here) Friday afternoon found me lunching with two of my dear friends, Janet and Katie. I met J & K way back in Junior College, lo those many, many years ago. Katie lives just across the Bay in San Francisco, and for some stupid reason we don’t get together as often as we should. Janet lives in Texas, so her visits are of course precious. Janet was sent to our neck of the woods last week for business, and was able to make time for lunch with Katie and me. Yay! Often when I lunch with Janet &/or Katie, we go to Va de Vi,…
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Staycation
Ted and me, photobombing Maya, Chloe, and Justin after the cable car ride. This was a lovely week in our humble abode. My sister, Maya, and her two children came and stayed with us for 4 days. They live in Portland, and decided to fly down and play tourist in the Bay Area, and spend some quality time with us. YAY! One of the attractions at the Musee Mecanique, which is always good for some morbid fun. They were interested in riding cable cars, going to Fisherman’s Wharf, and walking the Golden Gate Bridge. All of that is West of us, in my favorite city, San Francisco. We had thought…
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5 Years
Today is the 5 year anniversary of the day my mom died. I still miss her horribly, and I’m still pissed off sometimes that she had to go and die on me, but it’s easier than it was. More of a dull ache, not so sharp and jagged. She was a real character, boisterous and loud at times, always with an opinion on almost anything. She loved her kids to distraction. She was my friends’ favorite mom, because she would listen to them, and it was obvious to them that she genuinely liked them and cared about their problems, their hopes, and dreams. She was completely besotted by Maya, wrote…
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A Tale of Two Nurses
I’ve been fortunate enough in my own life thus far that I have seldom needed the help of a nurse. Not that nurses are bad, but often you find them in hospitals, and I’m fortunate to have only been in hospital myself when I had Maya. I was reminded of two nurse stories by two different comments on Facebook, by two friends who do not know each other, neither of whom I’ve met in real life. One is a bloggy friend of mine, who commented that Karma is real, and we need just wait for it to catch up with us. The other is Kelli, who was an online friend…
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Before Midnight
If you’re a fan of the Julie Delpy/Ethan Hawke films, Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, then you’ve likely been looking forward to the third installment in the story, Before Midnight. Sunrise tells the story of Jesse and Céline, who meet on a train in Europe. Jesse is on his way to the airport in Vienna, and Céline is on her way home, to Paris. Jesse has hours to kill before his flight leaves in the morning, and no money for a hotel, so plans to walk the streets of Vienna until sunrise. He convinces Céline to join him, and they walk and talk and fall in love, and promise to meet…
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Memorial Day
Today is Memorial Day, a day when we honor fallen soldiers. My immediate family has been fortunate in that we don’t have a lot of soldiers who have died in service to their country. My father was vehemently against the Vietnam war, and refused to go to war, though he did alternate service. My step-mom’s first husband died in Vietnam, however, so certainly the family is not unscathed. How is one supposed to feel in such a case? If he had lived, she would not have married my father. On the other hand, I cannot be glad that he died. My father-in-law served in Vietnam, though thankfully he came home…
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Monday Randomness
We decided to start our weekend early, and went out to dinner, and then to the new Star Trek (link is to Ted’s review on his blog) movie on Thursday evening. I like it when we do something like that during the week…though it can make for a tired Friday, it makes the weekend feel a bit longer. I enjoyed the movie, and I’m glad we went to see it, but I didn’t LOVE it. I think they did a really good job, but there was a sense of retreading an old story, rather than going in a new direction. Saturday I decided to get my butt in gear and…