Turkey - Again?

I went to the  gym again today for a spin class. My  5th  day in a row. I keep thinking I'll get tired or need a break. Not yet.

Peg and Bill arrived around noon. They also went to a local spin class. I am proud that I have been a good influence on them. I am giving Bill my old bicycle. They will drive it back to LA with them tomorrow. It enjoyed having them here for the holidays.

We all went for a walk around Salesforce Park. Bill and Peg had not seen it before. So beautiful. Elevated amongst the skyscrapers. Mediterranean landscapes from around the world around the edges. The bus fountain. The grand lobby. Another San Francisco highlight. 

Peg and Bill are spending Christmas in Ann Arbor, so Beth won't see them again this year. We decided to have Christmas dinner with them tonite. We exchanged presents. I love what I got: 

Bear and Salmon salt and pepper shakers!

We had another turkey dinner. After OD'ing on turkey yesterday, everyone had reservations about doing it again. Until they smelled it cooking and tasted a piece of crispy skin. Lovely dinner. I have a very hard time not overeating turkey. It is a rare treat. How do you decide when you have had enough turkey? 

Thanksgiving 2019

We had a great Thanksgiving. Peg and Bill were here with us.  We managed to participate in two family events: mine and Beth's. It is always a dilemma for us, deciding whose family to go to for Thanksgiving. This year, we decided to go to my family in Berkeley. Coincidentally, Beth's family's Thanksgiving party was only twenty minutes away. 

Beth knitted a scarf for Billy

Bill used an App to make Phyl look young again

Nice sunset over the Golden Gate

We had about fourteen people, all family at Lynn/Mom's. The food orgy started at three. Cheese, crackers, vegetables and dip. Not just any cheese. My sister obviously made a trip to the cheeseboard and selected several delicacies, some hard; some soft. We'll call that dinner number one. Jason cracked open some of his delicious new inherited wines. As I am writing this I can't find a single picture of Jason and only one of Lynn. I need to do a better job next time.

We were able to get Spotify to play thru the sound system and Listened to Phyl's 85th Birthday playlist. Soothing.

Jason was going to set up two tables. I convinced him to put the tables together in an L shape. That way, it felt like we were all at the same table. I hope everyone liked it. I did.

Way too much food. Mike cooked two turkeys. One got spatchcocked in the oven (flayed open and cooked flat); he smoked the other one on the weber.

I am now the family turkey carver. I used to get annoyed when people noshed on the pieces as I worked. I am over that. They can take as much as they want. I now have "don't care mind" about it. My dad taught me to carve a turkey. He learned a special method where you take the wings and legs off, and then take the whole breast off cleanly, in one piece, a side at time. Very efficient. Less waste, I think.

Meyer - caught noshing

Oy! The meal. Dinner number two. So much deliciousness. Great conversation around the table. We sang along to the music. Lots of Motown. Very good vibe.

We laughed about antics and drunkenness at our family Weddings and Bar Mitzvahs. Rabbits, dogs, crap tables. 

Good discussion  about Pessimism v. Buddhism. Peg explained the shocker and shocked us.

We missed Joe, Wendy and family. Wendy's mom Grace died yesterday. They were with her family but were coming over later, I think. Our condolences to Wendy and her family.

About 7:30, we packed up and left for party number two at Beth's sister Meg's house in Orinda. They had finished dinner and were putting away the food. Smallish crowd. Only three sisters there for Thanksgiving: Meg, Gail and Carol.

It did not take long for the dancing to commence. Beth and her sister's and their daughters and sons love to dance. 

Great times. Great families. I don't see how today could have been any better.

Reasonable Expectations

I am close to finishing a book, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. 

Dense but worthwhile. Not a quick read. Very enlightening. It causes you to call into question many basic ideas about society that we all take for granted. Mark Gaydos sent me this book. Thank you. I recommend this book.

Reading Sapiens last night, a passage really struck me,        "[b]eing satisfied with what you already have is more important than getting more of what you want". That really resonated with me. The crucial importance of human expectations in happiness.

I think the most successful attorneys understand that. They are wise enough to counsel their clients toward reasonable expectations. It makes resolution of matters easy whether by trial or settlement.

I feel very lucky that I am easily satisfied. If you expect too much or have too high standards, you set yourself up for disappointment. I have the good fortune of being a pretty happy person. I don't know whether I got that from my mom or just developed that way. 

Back to my life. I went to a spin class at my new gym, Equinox. I should really call it a health club. Beautiful facility. State of the art everything. Nice locker room and showers with fancy soaps, lotions and creams.

I have noticed how much I appreciate the towels. After taking a shower, the smell of a warm freshly laundered towel is heavenly. It was dried very hot and almost smells burnt. Can't wait to smell it again tomorrow.

Winter has arrived. We got our first rain. It took Beth an hour to get across town. Horrible traffic. Gridlock everywhere. This is the line of cars waiting to get onto the Bay Bridge to the East Bay.

I saw a movie, Ford v. Ferrari, tonite. I like it a lot. Christian Bale was wonderful as Ken Miles the race car driver. Beth reminded me that he was in one of my all time favorite movies, Empire of the Sun (1987), as a child actor. This was a feel good movie for me. It makes me want a faster car.

I have some thoughts to share about myself. Just not ready tonight. Soon.

I Don't Give a Shit

I went to a 6:30 am spin class. Very hard. I came out too hard and suffered thru the last part of class. Good news: After class I weighed in at 172 pounds. All day my  pants were falling down - in a good way.

I had a crazy dream last night. I was working in an office. They needed a special federal form which we did not have. We struggled thinking about ways to get the form we needed.

After that, I climbed up a very steep mountain to some kind of a compound/camp. Then I had to climb back down alone. The climb back down seemed very steep and scary. Near the top I went through what seemed like an abandoned office. There were boxes of staff, rat droppings, law books, etc. Beneath that office, it got super steep. It was a LONG way down.  I  tried to figure out the way down from there. All alone. No obvious path.

Sounds like retirement. Though, in real life, I already made it to the bottom. It was not so hard.

Beth and I headed over to Marin for a party at Thomas's house. We were early to avoid the traffic  I had on my favorite shirt. A blue and white flowery patterned shirt I bought at Banana Republic a few years ago. Beth commented in the car that the shirt was getting old and ratty. We stopped at the mall in Corte Madera. I went to Banana Republic. There, on the sale rack, was the exact shirt.  

I bought it and changed into it for the party. How lucky.

At the party - Thomas, his German  family, his friends Lynn and Adrian, and our old college crew: Annette, Pete & Kirsten, Jon, Beth, Meyer and Me. Thomas had lots of vegan options ready because our friend Robert (Mr. Super Vegan) was scheduled to be there. He got sick and did not make it. Thomas admitted that he also had all the vegan options because he is vegan curious.

So, we barbecued vegan and conventional burgers and dogs. I did not eat the conventional but they smelled a lot better. We tried the vegan cheese, melted on a vegan Beyond Burger. Adrian commented that vegan cheddar cheese is no worse than American Cheese (high praise indeed). Thomas commented that the vegan burger was a "nothing burger". All had a great time. No vegan conversions tonight.

My good friend who is going thru chemo and other cancer treatments shared his outlook with me today. "IDGAS": I don’t give a shit. I’m going to die anyway. Going thru something like that really gives you perspective. You get a better lens to separate out what is important in life.

Levin Kinsey

Our friend Levin Kinsey from Shreveport came for a visit in Inverness. She and her kids are here for Thanksgiving. We stayed with Levin on Bear's Wild Ride. 

She and Beth have been friends since Nicasio. Beth and Levin went on a hike in Pt. Reyes. They returned for crab and salad for lunch. We finished the crab. Time to catch some more. If only the weather would cooperate. I wanted to go tomorrow but there are seven foot seas. Yikes. I can wait.

Back home to San Francisco. Nothing happening. Shopped at Rainbow. Stocked up on veggies. Trying to keep the diet healthy.

Thomas and family almost came by for a visit. Watched our Sunday night HBO shows: Silicon Valley and Mrs. Fletcher. Ready to start another week with nothing to do.

Jimmy Karageorge

Saturday we went to Petaluma for breakfast. Too long a wait at our usual spot the Tea Room, so we walked around town and ended up at Della Fattoria. They are famous for their breads. They expanded their old storefront next door to a spacious eclectic dining room. Nice breakfast.

Back in Inverness, getting ready for winter. We pulled out the tomatoes and turned off the watering system. Our old friend Mao Mao came by for a visit.

Dinner at Stellina with a dear friend Paula Karsh.

Paula lost her beloved Husband, Jimmy Karageorge to cancer in August. Old friends from Nicasio. Great to see her. She looks good. As she put it very well, it used to be we; now it is me. Paula is strong, loving and open. We admire her.

Help Closing the Suitcase

Beth and I got up and drove to Inverness this morning. Prepping for a lunch party with Thomas and his sister Gigi from Germany and her family. Not just any party - a crab feed. I made a salad and cleaned and cracked all the crab.

We sat outside under the plum tree. Nice local bread (Brickmaiden) and cheeses from Cowgirl Creamery. Chardonnay, Champagne and beer.

Siegfried, Beth, Annika, Gigi, Sebastian, the bear and Thomas.

Great lunch of crab, salad and German potato soup. We got to hear the story of Gigi and Siegfried meeting in Germany almost 50 years ago. She was visiting her grandmother, who suggested that she get "Mr. Busch" from upstairs to help her close her suitcase. Here they are a lifetime later. We remembered that Robert and I visited Gigi and Siegfried and Thomas in Germany in late December 1986. Just before I met Beth in Paris in early January 1987. Same trip.

We made a pilgrimage to the Inverness "shipwreck". I am on the left trying to hide the whiskey I brought with me. Nice picture quality from the new iPhone 11.

We finished the day off with tea, Austrian chocolates and a discussion about global warming. After they left, while washing dishes, Beth and I felt very good about the day. Thomas is like family to us. His family feels like our family.