Day 68

As quiet as yesterday was, today was busy. Tracy and Nana went at it on all the outside areas: the new patio, old patios, the courtyard, and the deck. Cleaning. De-cluttering. Re-arranging. Tracy took pics of old tables and chairs, put 'em online, and they were gone by dinner time. At day's end they ventured forth to Lowe's for cushions and plants. We'll see the results of those tomorrow. In the meantime, a couple guys were demo-ing the weird stairs in the garage in order to put in new ones tomorrow. Papa, Matteo, and AJ did a hike at Fox Run Park (which has become a favorite for AJ). See Day 58's Fox Run pics. The matching chairs for the Fosters' new kitchen table arrived. We did a wine tasting challenge tonight. A Regusci 2014 cabernet sauvignon (an old favorite) versus a Neal 2013 cabernet sauvignon (recommended as "maybe better" by the wine guy), both Napa Valley. Both retail low $40s. And they did turn out very comparable. Both yummy at the get go. But the Regusci outlasted the Neal after competing with each other and enjoying three very interesting cheeses (Italian herbs, horseradish, and Hatch chili). A Noble Tree Sonoma Valley cab made a good 3rd wine for the evening at half the price. Yours Truly got to enjoy a beautiful evening out on the new patio. The little white dot over the neighbor's house is Venus. Mercury was there, too, but very faint. Jupiter and the Sun were there, as well, but just below the horizon.

Out with the old stairs in the garage.

The interior courtyard is getting a makeover.

The puppies loved playing outside.

The kids loved playing outside, too, with the new Aqua Maze.

Our naturalist can't go by a pond these days with out checking things out.
See the skeeter (Gerridae)? Itself and its shadow.

By Thor's Hammer...

I think it was the hike that inspired Wingspan.

Two Napa Valley giants battle it out.

See Venus?

Day 67

CostCo days are always very exciting. Or as exciting as it gets, sometimes. Jamie attended an online workshop: Using Technology Platforms for Content Delivery (by ColoradoFilm.org). Oh, and we got some of the yard stuff properly stashed beneath the front stairs (the HOA clipboard carriers have been busy lately). We had spaghetti and meatballs from the Club for dinner. And tonight's movie: Analyze This.

Tracy and Nana found a puzzle at the game store by Lowe's.
Puzzles are in high demand these days. Tracy's having a hard
time finding 2000 or more piece puzzles.

Guess what Lexi found a little early.

Got some photos in the mail.

On Matt's shelf.

Day 66

Another fairly quiet day. Nana and Papa started off the day playing Codename with the Sisco clan online. Good game for that. So is Just One. Buffalo Wild Wings for the big meal of the day around lunchtime. Papa watched Hangman tonight; Lynn fell asleep.

The California Fosters have a new trampoline!

Matteo's playing virtually with a California friend.

Bedtime for the pups.

Day 65

Pretty quiet Saturday. Tracy and the baby are off at the Marriott all day, and the rest of us are generally taking it quite easy. Matt and Jamie made a run to the Wine Seller (always fun!). I guess we were inspired by last night's Hess Collection tasting. No Regusci wine this time, but we managed to find some other good stuff and get introduced to some new recommendations to try. Jamie did his first Parlor Car Chat for the SLO Railroad Museum (virtual fireside chat about the train trip from SLO to Santa Barbara). 52 folks were there. Dinner was from Fuji Mountain (in Monument), yum! Everyone crashed early (not sure about the boys who may have stayed up a while). No movies (well, Nana and Papa watched a couple so-so movies falling to sleep).

What Tracy can do in a day with just herself and the baby at the Marriott.

A screen capture from Jamie's Parlor Car Chat.

Fuji Mountain dinner!

Day 64

The three Lodge dwellers came home today as did Matt and Matteo. Tracy and the baby took Matt and Matteo's place at the Marriott for a couple days. The Flying Horse Club did the coolest winemaker dinner via Zoom. We picked up our meal just beforehand (filet mignon and all the trimmings) and then in the comfort of our home watched and listened to the Club's Food and Beverage Director and the winemaker from the Hess Collection in Napa Valley. All around greatness; a few photos here.

The "old" machine is now on the Foster side.

And here's the new one on the Regusci side.

The Club had a Dinner with a Winemaker via Zoom.
Hess Collection wines from Napa Valley, including the winemaker live.

The cherry tomatoes have started!

Day 63

The three of us, Nana, Papa, and Fina, were at the club lodge all day. Don't know much about the goings on at home or at the Marriott. We started with breakfast at the French Kitchen: queenets and green chili quiche. The queenets are very popular at the French Kitchen and I could find almost zero info about them. They are super good (rich, sweet), come in various flavors (we had cinnamon cream), and have a hard glaze on them (like the top of a crème brûlée, but thinner). Wow! It was teriyaki night from the Club, Fina was quite excited. Tonight's movies (at the Lodge), both Hallmark: Kiss at Pine Lake and Time for You to Come Home for Christmas.

Jamie started reading Dennis Prager's new book, The Rational Bible: Genesis. So far, so good! It's actually the second book he's done in this series; Exodus was first. He did Exodus first because it contains what he thinks is the single most important element in the Torah (first five books of the Old Testament), the Ten Commandments.

The French Kitchen. With drone delivery!

Stormy evening at the Flying Horse Lodge.

The new coffee machine arrived at home!

Dancing for joy at Briargate. Nana and Fina got mani-pedis.

A Tower of Queenets from the French Kitchen.

Day 62

All hell broke loose. Some of us ventured out for real, like to a hotel. Just for a change of pace. Nana and Papa were to have flown to California today, but instead they traveled exactly one mile to the Flying Horse Lodge for a couple nights. Fina's right next door adjoining. Matt and Matteo are at the new Marriott down the street, and Tracy goes there in a couple days. The yard project is wrapping up. They come back Friday or Monday for the last plantings. Tracy was headed to Chick-fil-A with the five littlest when we left the birthday party. Nana and Papa's movies tonight: The Mask and Collision (2013).

Celebrate we did!

Some of the Flying Horse Lodge and Steakhouse.

Maybe THIS will be the last batch of masks.

Fina makes herself at home.