End of February

I have not been good about blog entries lately. I think it has to do with my watching the Australian Open and then the Winter Olympics.  Dowton Abbey also used up my Sunday evenings when I usually post a blog.

Spent most of this weekend working on my China Visa application. What a pain! Turned it in last night at one of our pre-China parties for someone to take to the DC Chinese Embassy to process. I hope I see my passport again! Below are some pics from the covered dish party. Carol Liz and Alice are our leaders.

Lynn, Carol, Carol Liz, and Alice

 

 

Steve & Babs, Mark, Joannie, Margaret, Sim

 
 

The baby shower is getting closer and am so looking forward to it. Also we have some nice outings planned for NYC before returning home.

Had Sim's son and daughter-in-law over for dinner Saturday evening. Made some yummy stuff for that from an Israeli cookbook that we got in Sonoma. Below are some pics of the green beans and snow peas w olive oil &pine nuts; multigrains w pistachio, dried apricots & orange rind; and roast turkey breast marinaded in lemon, cilantro, mint, and parsley. Very Tasty!

The house next to where I lived as a child is on the market. I find myself looking it it's pics on line frequently. They want half a million for it but considering how lousy new construction is, it's probably a good deal. It's not as pretty as our old house but very close being built by the same builder at the same time in the 1920's. It has the stained glass window on the stair landing and roughly the same layout only in reverse, and a little smaller. I don't believe there is an upstairs sitting room for example.

My annual physical exam revealed that I have adult onset diabetes so started taking a low dose of Metformin for a few months. John told me about a book where you eat super nutrient foods and exercise which can reduce blood glucose w/o medication so will look into that as well.  My fasting blood sugar was around 160 and the HbA1c was about 7.2 both of which are evidently higher than normal. Never had a problem before so not sure where this is coming from.

 

 

The weather has been extreme from snow, thunderstorms to 72 degrees over the last few weeks.  I've been out walking the dogs and playing tennis when the weather finally turned nice. 

Zelda and Zoe in the snow

Last week we went to a concert by my favorite a cappella group- The Starry Mountain Singers.  The singers come from Elkins WV, Asheville NC, Brattleboro VT, and Durham NC.  Some of their songs are posted on Youtube so here are some links. Do check them out.  It's the kind of singing I would like to do.

Corsican Song  Sit at Home     Bells of Love

Burt/Bilek Selfie



New used rug for me from my acupuncturist





My 1963 WV Centennial pose

Baby's room w Geogia and ML's quilt
 

Holding 1-year old Christopher last week

 

Sim getting ready for poker by the fireplace

 

Early January

These first few weeks of 2014 have been jam-packed.  Sim and I have been to several wonderful performances by the NC Symphony including Hilary Hahn doing her fabulous thing with the violin.  We saw several good movies including American Hustle, Philomena, Wolf of Wall Street, and some movies I could have missed like Her and Inside Llewyn Davis.

I had a Sunday Brunch here with some of our friends to commemorate the anniversary of Sim and my's first date.  It featured bagels and home-cured gravalax made with dill pressed between the salt blocks I bought last summer.  I also served pancit, dumblings, spiced peaches, and tomato aspic. Then we all went over to Carolina Meadows for a Klezmer band concert. A week or so ago I hosted the block party here.  We take turns once a month. We had abut 20 folks here for that. 

I had lots of tax stuff to deal with making sure I get my own fourth quarter tax estimate close.  I also had the Voices tax return to review and all the donation receipt letters to get out. I've enjoyed testing some new roll recipes including skillet rolls, Sunday rolls, and pretzel rolls.  Yes, I will have to start my new year diet in a week or so.

We met with the local folks taking the China tour and that was very interesting.  The leader kind of tried to lower our expectations saying we get what we pay for...makes me a bit nervous. I think there will be 21 of us including the folks from out of town. Below are some pics of the travelers.

A professional came out to see about my dysfunctional pond and waterfall.  The pump died and he had to do a lot of fancy stuff to put in a new pump because the guy who built the pond didn't consider that one may actually have to get at the pump for some reason some day.  In the process of testing out new pumps we managed to destroy one of my 2 frogs.  Frog legs were seen floating after he turned on the power.  Needless to say we did not go with that pump.  It looks pretty good right now and the fish and one frog seem happy enough.

I'm looking forward to a trip to NYC and a baby shower for ML in Baltimore.  That will be here before I know it.  So far I do not miss being in the Savoyards production of The Sorcerer.  Voices' rehearsals start up at the end of the month.  In the mean time we have several more good concerts coming up.  I also enjoy seeing the items posted on FB that Robert has made with his 3D printer.

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.