Life hasn’t been all about work, work, work, though it seems like it most of the time. Over the last three months we did get out of the house a few times, sometimes just for errands.
Movies
Late in January an old friend of Chelsea’s (a former boyfriend) called and invited us to a movie and lunch. Needless to say we were delighted to accept. After a lunch at a local Greek restaurant, we watched Sherlock Holmes in theaters. We’ve only seen movies in theaters twice since June of 2007 – hard to believe…! The last time we were in a theater was with Lynn and Hansford Hair (and Lea and James) in Lafayette LA when we saw the new Batman back in 2008.
We didn’t think the movie (Sherlock Holmes) was that great, but we loved getting out to the theaters. Lior, Chelsea’s friend, came back to the house afterwards and talked programming on websites with us.
Meanwhile we signed up for Netflix. For under $10 a month (we’re sharing it with Tyler so it’s only $5 a month each) we can watch unlimited movies online and we get one by mail. Chelsea and I have taken full advantage of that; we’ve caught up on a lot of great movies, watched many classics (all the Bogie movies), and seen some really, really terrific films. It’s our favorite way to end a long hard day, or to “veg out” on our few rest days.
I can’t forget to mention that Alex came through with season five of House. We ran through the episodes in record time. I hate it that we have to wait till September to see season six – maybe we’ll break down and watch the episodes on our computers.
Symantha
We made a couple of trips to Whole Foods again for supplies, and ran into Symantha again – she impresses us even more every time we see her. We’ve asked her advice on any number of things, and she always has a very thoughtful, measured and informative response.
This time we took time to share some personal information – she started in the natural foods industry when she was really young – maybe seventeen years old or so. She’s now finishing up her master’s degree in art (I think art history) and will go on to get a doctorate.
I can think of at least ten different items that we wouldn’t live without anymore, especially for our trip, and Symantha introduced us to all of them. We wish we could clone her and bring her with us.
Alex and Amanda
Late in January, Amanda and Alex came over for a barbecue one evening. Great food – Alex ran the barbecue – and great company. We had a chance to get to know Amanda more, along with her dog Cocoa.
They’ve been over a few other times, too. It’s hard for Amanda being here as she’s allergic to cats, and we have two cats that spend lots of time inside, so we’re delighted every time she’s here.
Super Bowl
Talk about fun! Alex managed to get us tickets for Super Bowl at the Ale House. In honor of the occasion, our neighbor Ivar loaned us his sedan (we usually get the old work van), so we traveled in style. I was at the San Diego Charger’s games back in 1969 and 1970 (we had season tickets for several years – the only home game I missed was the Thursday Paul was born), so I was tickled to death to see the Super Bowl this year, knowing they’d almost made it all the way.
The Ale House closes down each year for Super Bowl and holds a private party. Admission includes a full buffet and an open bar. Everyone’s in a glorious mood. Alex introduced us to more staff – our waitress was Tiffany, who was just a doll.
We spent the night eating and drinking and shouting ourselves hoarse during the game – every seat in the house had a view of at least three large television screens. As usual, some of the staff came and sat with us off and on – Dave Havoc, Bryan Currier, Chuck, Amanda, Alex.
We had an absolutely wonderful evening – work the next week went a whole faster because we were in better moods from having so much fun.
St Patrick’s Day Eggs ‘n Kegs party
Last year Alex had a St. Patrick’s Day party that he dubbed Eggs n’ Kegs, though Tyler tells me that he and Alex were the only celebrants, with a brief appearance by Amanda and Kaleena, and another brief appearance of a roommate.
This year Alex invited Amanda and her brother Chuck, Amanda’s roommate Kaleena, Tyler, and Chelsea and me for his second annual eggs ‘n kegs party (Terry was here of course, and Amanda brought Cocoa). To ramp up the party mood, Amanda showed up with St. Pat’s Day earrings and a St. Pat’s Day hat for me; Chelsea got earrings and a headband.
The party started at 6:30 a.m.; we had our first car bomb at 6:35. Alex cooked hash browns and bacon, I scrambled up a pan of green eggs, Tyler did corned beef hash, and Amanda provided baked goodies. Breakfast was great – good food and juice – it was a feast.
We spent the morning horsing around, playing beer pong on the back porch, swimming, hot tubbing, and playing football in the back yard. Car bombs are a tradition for St. Pat’s Day around here, so we had two more before the morning was over.
Our part of the day ended by noon; the others had lunch plans arranged with Amanda’s dad. We were just as happy – I am definitely not used to that much action so early in the day. Chelsea and I were only capable of watching movies the rest of the day – the others came home and spent the afternoon sleeping.
We had an incredible amount of fun, but I’m tellin’ ya, we moved slowly for a few days after. Once a year is for a party like that is just about perfect.
Roller blading adventure
One afternoon Amanda and Chuck showed up with Alex. Chuck had his new bicycle; Amanda and Alex had rollerblades. Chelsea and I grabbed our bikes and headed out with them. We spent a couple of hours in the late afternoon cruising around our neighborhood on bikes and blades, getting some easy exercise. Once again, it was great to see someone else besides each other, and to get outside, especially getting exercise when the weather was so beautiful.
Super Heroes costume party
Last week both Tyler and Alex were invited to a Super Heroes costume party. Neither of them had time to think much about it till a few hours before the party. Chelsea and I sat back and laughed while they tried out several ideas; we helped out by digging for eyeglasses or whatever else they needed.
The guys finally decided on Peter Parker (Tyler) and Harry Potter (Alex). Check out the photos in our albums.
Baby Possum
About two weeks ago Chelsea hollered at me one morning to get outside. I can always tell from the sound of her voice when I should run, and this was one of those times. She was next to the pool with the pool leaf skimmer, apparently trying to fish something out of the pool.
She came up with a teeny little baby possum! Check out the photos – they are priceless. The little guy sat the in the skimmer for a few minutes getting oriented, then started crawling around the skimmer exploring. Within a minute or two he was hanging over the side, looking for all the world like a little captain of his ship.
When he started squirming around we carried him over to the very edge of the yard so he could squeeze through the fence in an area where he’d have a better chance of escaping the cats. We haven’t seen him again, and the cats didn’t bring any fur or skeletons home, so we’re hoping he made it out of his adventure alive.