Westward, Ho! Volume V
Slow and steady...
1/1 We took pulp from juicing and other endeavors and tried mixing into scrambled eggs; mostly successful, but inconsistent. I started my annual call-a-thon. We met friends in Oakland, went to a tavern they suggested, had a very nice walk around the cemetery, and finally stopped in at their place for tea. Next we headed to the hills of Berkeley, in which one of my brother's long-time friends invited us for dinner and games. I was quite full of good eats. There was a bit of a three-body-problem in trying to figure out what games to play with the number of people we had and who was willing to play which games. Everyone started off with a few rounds of Zendo, which made for a nice brain puzzler. I pushed Arabian Nights because I knew it's one that Sweetheart liked, but that (and the hour) ended up convincing two folks to leave. We played a few rounds and then called it a night. We saw three or four spooky deer wandering the streets, in along the dividing shrubbery.
1/2 Between a late night and an early morning, I had a very groggy wakeup. We went down to take a tour of Elkhorn Slough; Grandma and her new partner were supposed to join us, but they missed the window and the boat had to leave without them. Wonderful boat tour of otters, seals, sea lions, pelicans, and dozens of other types of birds. Almost got stuck in the mud at one point, and the bridge was another good example of tidal action - could easily smack it on the way in, but couldn't jump to reach it on the way out. Back to shore, we turned on our computers and Omm started getting messages about her brother-in-law's failing health. In between making flight arrangements for her, we joined Grandma and aforementioned partner for lunch at Lemon Grass. All kinds of delicious curries passed around the whole table. I didn't get a strong sense of our guest, I'm not sure if he just doesn't talk much or wanted to be polite or felt shy around all the new people.
After that point we were taken to the home of the family we met at Little India. The girls were thrilled to see me again, but when I was balancing time with being "polite" and getting involved with the "grown-up" conversation I became far less interesting and they got engrossed in doing their own things. The parents showed us wedding pictures and talked about how they met, and then pitched the idea of setting up the same cousin with my brother.
We got home late-ish. Brother took Omm to the airport. Sweetheart and I took a walk in the moonlight, where she called me the "most important person"... I have to admit I was overwhelmed, I don't really feel like that. We came home and made beet stem and lentil soup, a mostly quiet evening, and watched the first episode of "The Office". Seeing Bilbo/Watson as an office drone was really interesting, and I'd probably want to see more, although the shaky camera wasn't helping.
1/3 Another beach walk at which we noticed someone camping on the beach. My brother and I played "Legendary", and saved the world. We went across to Oakland to try Juhu Beach Club, which had been advertised as making Dosa Waffles... unfortunately, we didn't realize it was only on Sundays until we got there. Very nice time catching up with two other friends at lunch. Lots of traffic on the way back; not sure if that wore us out or the food or just everything, but the whole house napped when we got home. It took me way too long, they've lived here more than a decade and finally they're moving, but I finally fixed a problem with a door that didn't close all the way. Sweetheart prepared broccoli with coconut, and we packed. We definitely needed that extra bag: Dad and S'mom had shipped our Christmas presents to arrive in Pacifica.
1/4 I was feeling restless the previous night, and apparently it carried on into my sleeping - Sweetheart said I kicked her a few times while sleeping. We did our final pack-through, and had a quiet drive through San Francisco and the Golden Gate park. We got a few things ready for church, then walked around the park nearby. We went to Mum's service (Grandma says she gives good sermons which is saying a lot!), and bought lunch and a few small gifts nearby. Mum dropped us off at the airport. I started doing stretches, and almost immediately a passerby informed us that SFO had a yoga room! It was very quiet and peaceful and appreciated, although we joked about both making out and the possibility of not hearing flight information.
On the flight back we were seated in different sections. I read through the magazine, folded back the sections I thought she might like to read, and left the crossword for both of us to do. On the final descent, the pilot announced our arrival into "Orlando... no, make that Atlanta. We're arriving in Atlanta." There was a pileup on the luggage carousel, three flights in the same booth and somehow dozens of previous bags were left. Not sure if the previous group's baggage was unloaded before the people, or it was closer to the terminal, or what, but it was a mess.
I won't bore ye with ⅕, it was all shoveling.
1/1 We took pulp from juicing and other endeavors and tried mixing into scrambled eggs; mostly successful, but inconsistent. I started my annual call-a-thon. We met friends in Oakland, went to a tavern they suggested, had a very nice walk around the cemetery, and finally stopped in at their place for tea. Next we headed to the hills of Berkeley, in which one of my brother's long-time friends invited us for dinner and games. I was quite full of good eats. There was a bit of a three-body-problem in trying to figure out what games to play with the number of people we had and who was willing to play which games. Everyone started off with a few rounds of Zendo, which made for a nice brain puzzler. I pushed Arabian Nights because I knew it's one that Sweetheart liked, but that (and the hour) ended up convincing two folks to leave. We played a few rounds and then called it a night. We saw three or four spooky deer wandering the streets, in along the dividing shrubbery.
1/2 Between a late night and an early morning, I had a very groggy wakeup. We went down to take a tour of Elkhorn Slough; Grandma and her new partner were supposed to join us, but they missed the window and the boat had to leave without them. Wonderful boat tour of otters, seals, sea lions, pelicans, and dozens of other types of birds. Almost got stuck in the mud at one point, and the bridge was another good example of tidal action - could easily smack it on the way in, but couldn't jump to reach it on the way out. Back to shore, we turned on our computers and Omm started getting messages about her brother-in-law's failing health. In between making flight arrangements for her, we joined Grandma and aforementioned partner for lunch at Lemon Grass. All kinds of delicious curries passed around the whole table. I didn't get a strong sense of our guest, I'm not sure if he just doesn't talk much or wanted to be polite or felt shy around all the new people.
After that point we were taken to the home of the family we met at Little India. The girls were thrilled to see me again, but when I was balancing time with being "polite" and getting involved with the "grown-up" conversation I became far less interesting and they got engrossed in doing their own things. The parents showed us wedding pictures and talked about how they met, and then pitched the idea of setting up the same cousin with my brother.
We got home late-ish. Brother took Omm to the airport. Sweetheart and I took a walk in the moonlight, where she called me the "most important person"... I have to admit I was overwhelmed, I don't really feel like that. We came home and made beet stem and lentil soup, a mostly quiet evening, and watched the first episode of "The Office". Seeing Bilbo/Watson as an office drone was really interesting, and I'd probably want to see more, although the shaky camera wasn't helping.
1/3 Another beach walk at which we noticed someone camping on the beach. My brother and I played "Legendary", and saved the world. We went across to Oakland to try Juhu Beach Club, which had been advertised as making Dosa Waffles... unfortunately, we didn't realize it was only on Sundays until we got there. Very nice time catching up with two other friends at lunch. Lots of traffic on the way back; not sure if that wore us out or the food or just everything, but the whole house napped when we got home. It took me way too long, they've lived here more than a decade and finally they're moving, but I finally fixed a problem with a door that didn't close all the way. Sweetheart prepared broccoli with coconut, and we packed. We definitely needed that extra bag: Dad and S'mom had shipped our Christmas presents to arrive in Pacifica.
1/4 I was feeling restless the previous night, and apparently it carried on into my sleeping - Sweetheart said I kicked her a few times while sleeping. We did our final pack-through, and had a quiet drive through San Francisco and the Golden Gate park. We got a few things ready for church, then walked around the park nearby. We went to Mum's service (Grandma says she gives good sermons which is saying a lot!), and bought lunch and a few small gifts nearby. Mum dropped us off at the airport. I started doing stretches, and almost immediately a passerby informed us that SFO had a yoga room! It was very quiet and peaceful and appreciated, although we joked about both making out and the possibility of not hearing flight information.
On the flight back we were seated in different sections. I read through the magazine, folded back the sections I thought she might like to read, and left the crossword for both of us to do. On the final descent, the pilot announced our arrival into "Orlando... no, make that Atlanta. We're arriving in Atlanta." There was a pileup on the luggage carousel, three flights in the same booth and somehow dozens of previous bags were left. Not sure if the previous group's baggage was unloaded before the people, or it was closer to the terminal, or what, but it was a mess.
I won't bore ye with ⅕, it was all shoveling.