Happy New Year!

We returned from CA Saturday with no problems. I had the TSA pre-check on my boarding pass which meant no security lines or issues. We hung out in the United Club for a few hours since we returned the rental car a bit early to avoid an extra day charge. The last few days in CA were jam packed.

The day after Xmas, Sim and I drove to Brentwood which is about one hour from Novato. We looked at Trilogy in the Vineyards which is a 55+ community east of SF.  I really liked it since it was like Fearrington Village only had vineyards in place of cows and goats. The cost of the houses is reasonable for CA but still a bit high for me.  My fav model is below; it has a central courtyard. We also looked at houses in Petaluma which is a real cute town just north of Novato, but in my price range, there are only one bathroom bungalows that cannot hold my mother's grand piano. 

On Friday, we drove up to Bodega Bay and Santa Rosa which are two go Alfred Hitchock's favorite sets for movies. We went out to eat at a beautiful restaurant south of San Rafael. 

I picked up the dogs from Companion Camp and was presented with a pic of Zoe  and Zelda with Santa.  They are glad to be home however. Sunday night we went to Sim's son's house for family gathering. Below are some pics...

 

Model I liked best at Trilogy

In Bodega Bay

With Sim's grandchildren

Doing dishes

ML's announcement on facebook

Merry Christmas

Chamblee's and Catharine at Ned's

Great pic of Deborah

Ben at Ned's

California!

We had an easy nonstop flight from RDU to SFO. We rented a car and drove down to Palo Alto to visit Sim's nephew, Avi, and his wife, Gila. Avi's brother, Danny joined us for dinner. On Thursday we drove to Monterey and Carmel--nice places. The aquarium was wonderful. Then we drove to Nachum and Barbara's home in Sunnyvale. Nachum is Avi's father and Sim's brother-in-law. On Friday we went to Ano Nuevo State Park and hiked along the coast and watched elephant seals bask in the sunshine. That night we went back to Avi's and had a Shabbat followed by yummy dinner. Avi's other brother, David, and his family joined us.

On Saturday we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge to Novato where we visited with Robert until ML got home from work. Today we took the ferry to San Francisco and had Dim Sum with my friend, Rob. Next we went to the Academy of Sciences Museum in Golden Gate Park where we saw 2 planetarium shows: Earthquake and Cosmic Collisions. We saw reindeer and penguins as well.

Gila, Sim, Danny, and Avi

Nachum, Sim, and Barbara

Jellyfish at the Monterey Aquarium

Sim and me in Carmel

Ano Nuevo

With Rob in San Francisco

Early December

After getting home from Mexico, we had 2 weeks of very busy schedules. We celebrated my birthday with several concerts and a wonderful dinner at One in Chapel Hill.  We went to the Porshe exhibit at the NC Museum of Art.  Below is a pic of Janice Joplin's Porche.  Made some beautiful snowflake cookies for a lunch of empanadas and ponset for some chorus folks.  I showed Joyce how to make cutout cookies which she had never done. Then I had rehearsal week leading up to our Voices concert Dec 13-14.  All day on the 15th I counted the ticket and pecan sales cash and checks. I made over a $9000 deposit on the 16th for Voices. Then was Xmas shopping and shipping to do but never got around to sending Xmas cards. I packed my new carryon suitcase and left home this morning at 4:45. I am now in Palo Alto, CA. Tomorrow we may drive down to Monterey and Carmel.

Mexico City

On Saturday, Sim and I took a bus to Mexico City. It took about 4 hours but was a very nice bus. We took a taxi to the Ramada down town near a big park. We walked around for a few hours taking the snaps below. For dinner we had some street-food tacos which were very good. There were lots of folks out on a Saturday afternoon.  We left early Sunday morning and spent the day in travel.  We had a shipping place pack up the lantern sconces I bought so I could check them on the flights. No problem getting through customs in Houston with them, but when we got to RDU, they were not there.  They were still in Houston so they delivered them the next day to me.  They were really well packed! I'm now working on getting them electrified and installed. We had a great time but it's always good to be home.