Beach Time

A recent post showed the lack of snow in the Sierra.  This post shows the coast taken on two different days this past week.  I had dinner and a concert in Pacifica on Saturday. I attended a conference in Half Moon Bay through early Wednesday afternoon so I headed down the coast before the sun set.  Enjoy the pictures!  


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Snowless Sierra Mountains

Normally, the Sierra are covered in 6 to 12 feet of snow at this time of year. As you can see from my driving trip last weekend, the snow is sparse and well below normals. In fact, many of the pictures below were taken on highway 4, which is normally closed to traffic as it is impossible to keep clear because of all the snow. Not true this year!


The real concern is drought. I'd hate to back to our old drought routine but it may be necessary. 


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Christmas In New York

Thought you'd like to see the light show Saks runs on its building in New York. 


Click here.  


Pat

Happy New Year!

Here is a toast to you and yours for the new year!  Hoping all is healthy and happy for you. 

I envisioned this entry as a wrap up to 2011 with text and pictures from the last year.  Well, I may get that done soon, but not tonight.

Since my last posting, I drove to Scottsdale to see Mary's son Tim and her #3 grand daughter, Charlize.  I brought some items from Mary's estate, specifically the glass chicken that was Alberta's and always a threat as to who would get the "guilt chicken".   I suggested to Tim that he start a tradition that the chicken rotate each year at Christmas. That way, all three of the offspring have to live with it for one year out of three.  I think Tim is considering doing that so he does not have to keep it permanently!  

We also went to the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix (click here). What a blast that is!  It has a wonderful collection of musical instruments from all corners of the world.  More impressive was the audio-video setup. You were given a set of ear pieces as you enter the museum.  As you approach each exhibit, you notice a video playing with performers using the instruments on display.  As you get close enough to the display, your earpieces start playing the sound track for the video you are standing closest to.  Absolutely a fantastic way to both see and hear the sound made by each instrument playing traditional songs.  Wonderful! 

It turns out the museum was sponsored by a retired executive from Target.  They told us he debated between Minneapolis and Phoenix for the museum. The market research said more people from around the world would see the museum if it were in Phoenix.  I wish he had put it in San Francisco or New York, it deserves that kind of traffic and appreciation! 

After three days with them, I drove to Tucson for a quick visit with Terry and Barnes in their new home.  It is a fantastic place, that is for sure!

My last stop in Arizona was Prescott to visit a new friend.  Sue is a friend of Laura and she moved from Silicon Valley to Prescott about two months ago and I simply wanted to see how she was doing.  She has a beautiful home (for sale, click here or here) and was a great hostess and we had a nice visit before I hit the road back to Los Gatos. On Saturday evening, I attended a very nice New Years Eve party with Laura and friends of hers from her church and choir.  A very pleasant evening with some wonderful folks! 

I drove Humette (my Honda Element) and that little 4 cylinder engine with a 5 speed manual did a great job on the highways. The speed limit in California is 70 mph and Arizona is 75 mph.  I had no problems with any of the mountain grades and managed to keep with the flow of traffic at all times!  The whole trip was 1,835 miles and I averaged 22.6 mpg.  Considering much of the "flow of traffic" speeds were 80 mph and up, 22.6 isn't bad for pushing a brick shaped, 4,000 lb SUV through the wind.  

One of my goals on the road trip was a silly little thing.  I decided that because my collection of Christmas songs now totaled a handful over 500, I should listen to the whole set during this trip. The Honda came equipped with a place to plug in an iPod or iPhone so I did to listen to my songs. When I got home, I only had 36 left to hear.  As of writing this blog entry, there are two left out of the 506 and I will play those as I go to bed.  I would call that a fitting end to the holiday season--my employer wants us back tomorrow, Monday, so we'll be at work instead of watching bowl games.  

Trivia about my collection:  21 different renditions of Silent Night. Perhaps the most disturbing was the rap version.  Bing Crosby had one great voice!  Louis Armstrong does a mean reading of "Twas the Night Before Christmas".  I love the music of a German song that has not engendered an English equivalent. I have no idea what they are singing about, but I love the way it sounds!  Gene Autrey's original version of Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer is a real kick! 

 Happy New Year! 

Pat

Merry Christmas!

Its been a great holiday so far...

Last Saturday, I flew to Denver to visit my son and his wife and my two grandchildren.  We had a blast!  The weather was great unlike the visit of 2006 where we were trapped by a blizzard for several days. We did all sorts of fun stuff and it was great being with family. I flew home Tuesday night. Denver got hit with 14 inches of snow on Wednesday--I just escaped! 

Wednesday and Thursday were a bit tough. The memories can be recalled with a very little thing that creates a huge emotional reaction.  On Wednesday, the song "Christmas in Killarney" by the Irish Rovers caused that reaction for me.

Click here to hear the song.  A new window will open a youtube site.

The Christmas of 2008 was the last time Mary and I danced. It was Christmas dinner with Ingrid and Maurice.  The song came on our sound system and Mary, Ingrid and I got up and started dancing.  The first time I heard that song this time of year simply causes the tears to flow.

From 2008-12 Christmas & Flowers

From 2008-12 Christmas & Flowers

By Friday I was feeling better. I had hosted Laura (Tahiti) and her friend Marcia for dinner on Thursday. On Saturday, MaryR and I went to a "Christmas eve party for orphans" that Mary has attended for many years. The host and hostess were wonderful and the hostess is a rower which is the connection to Mary.

Late Sunday morning I hosted a "Come and Make Brunch" party with MaryR and her daughter Emilie plus Laura and her friends Johan and Angela. We had a great time together, told stories, exchanged gifts and overall had a very pleasant time.

On Sunday evening, Marcia held a "Christmas for Orphans" dinner party at her house. Her husband, local relatives plus other folks joined to make a most enjoyable time.  Laura brought the appetizers and I brought a bottle of 11 year old David Bruce Pinot Noir which the wine lovers at the party thought was absolutely over the top. They were right, it was very, very good!

This week is more holiday visiting. My company shut down for the last two weeks of December so I have lots of visiting time!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Pat

Ready for Christmas

For those who remember last year, I didn't get the house decorated at all--until Sarah and Danny came over one night and Sarah insisted they decorate my tree. This year I decided I would not let it get too late before I started my decorating. And, it didn't. I actually started before I left for New York and finished yesterday.


Now, some might call it cheating but I hired a Christmas decorator who used the stuff I had and added a few new things consistent with the theme Mary and I created over the years. Maria is her name and she is wonderful. Sensistive to the meaning behind the items on the tree and with an eye for style to make things "just so"!!

The first picture is my front door with the garlands hung around the door frame, the wreath hanging from the fixed door and just inside the entry, Mary's "Freedom Tree" as she once called it.

The Freedom tree was acquired for Christmas of 1992 in her first apartment. It was the first time she had a place that was for her 'only' as she had lived at home, at school and she and John were married right after graduation. So the freedom was that of living on her own for the first time in her life. 


Maria suggested we put the Waterford Twelve Days of Christmas collection plus other crystal pieces on that tree along with lights and a minimal amount of decoration. I think it looks spectacular and I think Mary would have loved what was done.


In the close up of the tree, you can see a couple of the Waterford pieces, ribbon and a few decorations. All are done very tastefully and it certainly could be a tree that Mary decorated herself.

The last picture is the living room, ready for a party--which will happen this weekend. Everytime I look at this room, I think of how it has changed during the 28 Christmas' I have celebrated in this house. From Chris and Erika checking out their Christmas stockings for stocking stuffer gifts from Santa (Erika was 5 and Chris was 13 but he still checked out the stockings with gusto) to the trips to the tree farms in the Santa Cruz mountains to find our own imperfect but spirited tree, to the quiet Christmas that was Mary's last just two years ago. Maybe I can find some old pictures of Christmas Past and post them this month. We shall see.

Merry Christmas to all!

Happy Thanksgiving & Broadway Debut!

To all my friends and family, I hope you had a great Thanksgiving.  T-day is such a great time to be with friends, family and a turkey!  My best wishes to all. 


As for me, I am in New York. I know, this violates my normal practice of writing about my travels while on the road but I will be home Saturday. 




Click here if you cannot see the photos. 


I arrived on Monday afternoon and my daughter, Erika, and I connected in the rain.  We had a simple dinner at a place called the Shake Shack which serves fantastic hamburgers.  On Tuesday, I had lunch with my cousin Tony who lives in the lower East side. We met at the Gramercy Park Hotel and ate at the Maialino Restaurant.  We spent four hours telling stories and catching up on our lives and it was a most pleasant time.  Tony and I share a common set of grandparents on my mother's side and his father's side.  OK, for the quick reader, my Mom and his Dad were brother and sister.  I think I have written about my Uncle Coleman, the surgeon, previously.  Yup, his is my Uncle and Tony's father.  


After leaving Tony, I got off the subway near Erika's office (Chrysler building) only to find out her office moved a month or so ago 13 blocks north.  A nice walk normally, but it was raining cat and dogs (California definition). Erika corrected me that it was merely a shower and not officially rain.  Yucko. 


We had a nice dinner in her neighborhood and then a nightcap in a local bar called The Gael.  And, the bartender was from Ireland. Even more fun was that one of Erika's coworkers had spent a few minutes on Ancestry.com and looked up the Lamey genealogy for her. Me, my Dad, my grandfather William, my great grandfather John (the immigrant to Minnesota in 1849-50) and his father, John, who never left Ireland.  He confirmed the Lamey-Leamy spelling change as well.  It was so fun to see that all in one quick glance. The bartender wanted to know where in Ireland we (they) were from. County Clare, KnockJames. 


Wednesday, Erika left work early (2-ish) so we got together shortly thereafter and the showers stopped. We headed over to the Macy's parade balloon preparation area and with tens of thousands of other New Yorkers viewed the balloons tied to the ground.  We did this last year and it really is a fun thing to do to get into the holiday spirit.  


After the balloons, we had reservations at Tony's restaurant, Whym on the East Side near Columbus Circle.  It was a fantastic meal and the service was spectacular!  Of course, they all knew we were relatives of the General Manager, Anthony, so we think, perchance, we got the royal treatment. I know at bill time we were royalty, Thank You Tony!  


As an aside, Tony is my cousin on my Mom's side.  His work name is Michael Anthony commonly called Anthony. It took me a minute to figure that out!  


Thursday broke with a beautiful sunny day and it remains clear today as well. Tony suggested we not hassle with the trip to the Statue of Liberty but rather take the free Staten Island Ferry which sails very close to the statue and the price is right!  Besides, we got a bit of a late start (Imagine, Erika had a touch of work to do on Thanksgiving morning--chip off the old block, eh?) so the round trip on the Ferry made sense as we had dinner reservations at Aurora SoHo at 3PM.  Aurora had a special Thanksgiving menu and it was absolutely wonderful!  A truly enjoyable meal. 


We then walked to Ground Zero only to find 1) you need to acquire a pass in advance to get into the Memorial and 2) the area around the Memorial was swamped with the Occupiers and those who were observing the Occupiers--police and press, mostly.  Oh, well. It is the land of the free.  


We jumped in a cab and headed back to our respective places for a post Turkey nap for me and E did a bit of work.  Chip off the old block? Nope, a huge chunk!  


As for the Broadway debut--finally for the patient reader--we had tickets to see Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.  It is an Australian based story line and a Musical created after the success (tongue in cheek) of the 1994 movie, "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert." It is an absolute kick of a Musical with great songs, a fun story line and some great Aussie actor/singers.  


At Intermission, they set up handrails along the stairs that went from the stage to the audience. I told Erika that meant the performers would be coming down into the audience. As the second act opened it was a country western skit and the dancers came down the stair and up the aisle. 


Well, our tickets were in row G (7 rows back) and on the aisle.  I was really into the music and watching the closest performer.  She then grabbed my hand and lead me up to the stage!  Broadway Debut!


Well, I cannot tell you exactly what I did. She simply said, "I'll lead, you follow!" There was a dosey doe, a polka, a hold hands circle and then a group bow.  I am sure it was only a couple of minutes but I sure felt like a lot more. It was an absolute kick.  Erika said she wanted to take a picture but she knew the theater rules prohibited it. 


After the play, we stood deciding what to do next on the sidewalk on the corner near the theater.  People actually acknowledged me as a performer!  Erika and I were both giggling about that!  I offered signatures but no one took.  Oh well, it will live in our memories forever AND, its a Thanksgiving highlight!  


And, last night I could not sleep so I watched the movie on my iPad via Netflix.  The Musical was better, I think.  


Today we will see the Matinee of "The Book of Mormon", a latest multiple Tony winner.  Tonight we'll hit Rockerfeller Center and enjoy the lights, the people and the ice skaters. 


My flight leaves at an inhuman hour but it means I will be home before noon tomorrow.