Saturday December 26, 2015

Friday December 18: Today is our travel day. Our flight does not leave until 1600. Nancy and I walked over to Panera for breakfast. After breakfast we finish packing. I call Metro Taxi for a 1345 pickup. It starts to snow around noon. We are having concerns if we can get out. The taxi is late because of the snow. Check in and board the flight right on time. The plane is deiced and away we go. We arrive in Minneapolis on time. No snow on ground in MN but it is cold. The flight to San Jose was smooth. Both our flights today were overbooked. Debbie met us at the airport and she drives us to her home. Debbie has a home that is perfect for her. I really like it. Nancy heads to bed and Debbie gives me a glass of great wine and we talk until near midnight, 0300 in GR. Saturday December 19, Jet lag because I get up at 0530. Get dressed and walk over to the Willow Glen Starbucks. I have oatmeal and a chance to read the WSJ. Get Nancy a coffee and walk back to Debbie's. We had heavy rain this morning. Saturday is kind of a fog for me. We run some errands and I put a bar stool together. I did take a nice nap. We had dinner at a local restaurant. We watched Netflix this evening. Debbie has the first season of Doc Martin so we watched several episodes. We do not have the first season in GR. Sunday December 20: I am getting over jet lag because I sleep in until 0630. Had breakfast at Starbucks. No WSJ so I bought a copy of the San Jose Mercury News. Around noon we head out to Costco. As always Costco was packed. California Costco stores are great places to people watch. The diversity is amazing and reflects the future of the USA. I would recommend Donald Trump visit. Do you think Trump has ever been in a Costco? We also had lunch at Costco. Debbie and I had a slice of pizza and Nancy had a hot dog. Dining in style! I even had time for my Sunday nap. Nancy fixed scrambled eggs for dinner. We got a call from Stephen and his family is joining us for Christmas. The Girls are happy. Monday December 21: I am in a routine because I had breakfast at Starbucks. It looks like it will rain all day. Today is the Winter Solstice. Nine hours of daylight in GR. Seven hours in Edinburgh and nine hours and 35 minutes in San Jose. My biorhythms always go up after this solstice because the days are getting longer. Spring is not far away. To celebrate I took a 2.5 mile walk. Debbie drove Nancy and I to the Westfield Mall. We finished some shopping. The Mall was packed. We also walked over to the high end shopping district called Santana Row. I looked in Brooks Brothers and Orvis but did not buy anything. Debbie picked us up about 1500. It was pouring rain. I took a nap. Nancy did not want to go out to dinner so Debbie and I visited a local Italian Restaurant. We both had pasta. It was very good. We watched Major Crimes on TV before turning in. Tuesday December 22: Up at 0600 and yes I walked over to Starbucks. The young lady behind the counter already had oatmeal ready. Am I predictable? It is now 0759 and I am sitting in Starbucks writing this blog. It is raining hard outside. Stay tuned! Debbie and I had returned to Toys are Us and purchased a bike for Alessandra. We also ran errands to Food Max and Target. Took a late afternoon walk. We had a light dinner and watched Netflix until bedtime. Wednesday December 23: I am now on a schedule. Up at 0600 walk to Starbucks for oatmeal, coffee and a banana. Read the first sections of the WSJ. I developed a running nose overnight so I headed out to the garage to get some Kleenex. I shut the garage door so the cats would not get out. I forgot the door locks. So I opened the garage door and tried the front door. It was locked, rang the doorbell. Both Debbie and Nancy were taking a shower and could not hear the bell. I decided to take a walk. Walked to the Willow Glen shopping district, 2.5 miles. Yesterday I walked through the District about 1600 and saw a long line outside an Italian Deli. I asked what the draw was and was told it was the ravioli. This morning about 0930 the line was even longer. It is now 1048 and Debbie and I are heading out to Costco. Nancy is making cookies. Steve and family left Long Beach early this morning. They should be here about 1500. At Costco we had a slice of pizza. Nancy called and said Steve and family had arrived. We finished our shopping and headed back to Debbie's. It was great seeing the grandkids. It took some time for them to settle in. Debbie, Veronica and I drove to Toy's are Us to pick up Alessandra's bike. For dinner we all headed to Smash Burger. This was Bob and Nancy's first trip to Smash Burger. We gave it a C+. I was surprised to learn that the entire LB family watch the Food Network. We watched several shows. I will stick with Netflix. Thursday December 24, 2015: Christmas Eve. It was colder this morning in San Jose than in GR. The rain also continued. I know CA needs rain but I want a warm sunny day. Fifty years ago Nancy and I spent Christmas Eve at 875 Woodside Rd in Redwood City, CA. I checked on Apple Maps and our rental was exactly 25 miles from Debbie's. We walked to a local park but cut short our stay because it started to rain. We had a nice sit down dinner. Every one put on their best clothes. Alessandra had on her scotch plaid skirt and Lucas wore a white shirt with a bow tie and smoking jacket. The Grandkids looked great. Debbie had fixed a traditional ham dinner with potatoes and vegetables. TNT is running the movie "Christmas Story" continuously. The movie is set in a small IN town in the late 40s. The main character wants a Red Ryder Daisy BB gun for Christmas. I can relate because I wanted a RR BB gun. My parents got me one for Christmas in about 1948. I can relate to the movie. Speaking of little boys and Christmas gifts, Debbie asked me what was my favorite Christmas gift. That was easy. When I was about 11 I got a small white RCA radio for Christmas. I set it on the nightstand next to my bed. I have found memories of going to bed early on cold winter nights and listening to radio mysteries on my radio. Friday December 25, 2015: Merry Christmas. I got up at 0600 and walked to Starbucks to get three coffees. I was surprised that Starbucks was crowded. The Grandkids were really excited. We all opened our presents. I wish we could bottle the Christmas morning good feelings all year, We had a great egg dish and coffee cake that Nancy fixed for breakfast. Steve and family headed to Church and I took a nice 4.5 mile walk on a trail near Debbie's. Nancy and I had a nice talk with Missy and AJ. They also had a great Christmas. I am looking forward to spending time with them next week. We all attended the 1500 showing of Star Wars. The movie was crowded. I was surprised at the reaction of the crowd. Whenever an original cast member appeared they clapped. The grandkids loved the movie. We had ham sandwiches for dinner. Lucas and Alessandra were still fully energized at 2100. I wish I had that energy. My best present was to be with Nancy for our 50th Christmas. Saturday December 26, It is now 0800 and I am sitting in Starbucks typing this blog. This afternoon I am going with Steve and Veronica to LB. Nancy, Debbie and the kids are coming down on Monday. Stay tuned!