Mosh Glass

Abbreviated blog post. Everything am same one half hour earlier. Marika is headed to Sonoma to have lunch with the grandparents. Early. She still wanted to workout so up early and off to gym. Her early is not mine. I was up.

Workout was kinda easy. Still took forever.

Back home. Both got ready and me to work her to Sonoma.

I drove straight to work via Starbucks. While standing in line I received a text from Cara asking if I wanted Starbucks. Then she walked in. Funny.

Worked till 630. Nothing earth shattering. Ryan the IT guy was in, installing new computers and updating the ones good enough.

Drive home, way too much traffic.

Emily had picked up Mexican for Tuesday. Delicious as always. Marika made it home just in time for dinner.

I wrapped my friend Cissie’s Xmas gifts tonight. Gotta mail them to Tacoma and I don’t want to much postage.

Marika made cookies. Very good. And that’s my evening.

it’s called Monday. Emily has decided she will now be getting up at 515am every morning. Today was day one. And yes, it’s too early. Remember, I am off caffeine and have been for a couple months. So this is tough.

Day was normal Monday. Packed Em lunch. Made coffee. Fed dog and wife. Went to work out. Btw, Pam (trainer), if ur reading this, it was a weenie workout. She promised better on Wednesday.

I managed to get back out of the house by 10am which is important today since I have an 11am in my office. I have a couple coming in to discuss year end tax due. They have been clients off and on for 25 years. And I made it on time for a change. And, they brought me the first gift of Christmas, a Pannetone and a bottle of wine. Nice combo. I love Italian fruitcake.

The balance of the day was crap. And the usual crap too. But, I held out till 630 before heading for home. Oh yeah, one slight anomaly, a trip to the bank. Boring as well.

Trip home was awesome. No traffic and very fast. Nice.

I arrived at home just as Marika was putting dinner on the table. Perfectly timed. Hey Marika, dinner was great!

After dinner was almost the usual. The only item of interest was me installing a new headlight on the Fit. That’s it.

Good news! I got up this morning and had no ill effects from the bacchanalian feast from last night. Last year the dinner destroyed me and I spent some time in the bathroom praying. This year, lesson learned, I came home sober. Works wonders.

We have no plans for today. The kids plane leaves at 730 so we have time to go do something.

Having time can be a problem. All of us kinda did nothing. Football was on. We made breakfast. Did the laundry. Took showers. Before we realized it, it was past one and we had far less time.

Emily made a management decision and we all headed to Grass Valley to just kinda look around. I have been here before with Em for a look. And a nosh. You know. Which we thought the kids might enjoy. Did not happen that way. We got there and the three of them wandered off to a brewery and drank beer while we wandered around town. This millennial thing where drinking at a brewery has become a form of entertainment is far beyond my comprehension. I’d rather stay home and drink. Why drive twenty miles for a beer? I am sure I will never understand it.

Two or three hours later, we were kinda walked out, I went looking for them and they magically appeared right where we were. We all now together decided to enjoy an early dinner before heading for the airport. As usual, Michael found a place on Yelp or some such place and we headed there. A bar and grill on the other side of town. Best thing, we can do it together. We all enjoy eating.

The drive was quick. Semi industrial area, low curb appeal, kinda dumpy place. Inside, a nice bar an grill. Food was excellent though the selections were not vast. For where the place was I have to say it was overpriced. As usual, Dad paid. We ate at a leisurely pace, we still have time and it’s a short drive to the airport. And they had a couple football games on which slows everyone down.

Our eventual drive home was fast. No traffic on Sundays in winter. Most tourists have abandoned the area. Got back about the time we needed to load up the kids and drive to the airport. I had intended on driving them and Marika decided she wanted to go too. The car was totally silent on the drive. I presume they were to tired to communicate. Or something.

We dumped them out at 630 and they were off. Marika and I went back up the hill. No traffic, again.

Home. Watched a little bad tv. Did laundry. Went to bed. It’s my mantra.

Saturday morning and not much going. Have many house guests, son and girlfriend here from Camarillo and also daughters boyfriend staying the night. So I have several people sleeping here. We are going to the annual wine dinner at Goose Cross winery tonight. The dinner is absolutely fabulous. Also expensive. This is our third year. We do look forward to it.

Getting back to the now, we are slow moving (2 out, 4 in bed) this morning. Emily went on a Starbucks run. I tried mobile ordering for the first time. Was not impressed. I am cooking jalapeño bacon and eggs for breakfast. It’s 10am.

Why is everyone so slow. Well, last night, we had a fondue party and had a few friends. The adult children invited local friends. I love fondue as does everyone else or so it seemed. Along with fondue a few cocktails and several bottles of wine. Hence the slow moves this morning.

Fondue is fun especially with a lot of people. We get to fight over space in the pot and forks and raw meat. Which we did, good naturedly of course.

It was fun catching up with the “kids” old friends. Two have known Michael since kindergarten and of course we know them too. It seems so funny to have friends that long. But, my Dad is 89 and he still has a couple friends from kindergarten. May run in the family or it’s just an outcome of growing up In a small town and never moving.

Anyhow, it’s a pleasure to see the kids grow up. They turn out ok, for the most part. Though Jake had a mullet. That’s not ok.

There were several drunk people by the end of the evening. Michael passed out in the middle of a conversation. Carly was asleep at table and no matter how hard I tried I could not move her to the bed. I was not aware how drunk marika was till Saturday morning. She did not get up till very late and was still puking at 3.

The party dissipated by midnight or so and all were gone by 1am. Everyone to bed. Have to be up early.

Saturday morning again. We have a couple visitors. My electrician Walter and Plumber Heinz we’re here. Heinz was here by nine. He finished installing the drain and supply line for the espresso machine. I had used that machine everyday since 1994. We moved out of Silveyville in 2017 and the thing went to storage. Have not used it in two years. May be able to start it up tomorrow if the grinder is up to snuff. I have been having problems with it. I also need to put the espresso cabinet/closet back together. I had to empty it and a few cabinets to run lines. It’s a process.

Walter was here for a few finishing touches. Put in a light above the John in the master. A reading light if you will. Finally swapped out the hot switch in dining room. Last but not least, he hung the light we bought in Quebec City last year. A process. All in due time.

The rest of the day was not much. I took back the rental table. Emily did chores. We watched the guys work on the house. Nothing exciting.

We left the house at 3 for the wine dinner. The rain had turned into a deluge and the first 30 minutes of the drive was quite the harrowing experience. It did finally clear up and Emily relaxed. Our drive became pleasant. We are 30 minutes out. Well, Emily and I are 20 out. The kids went in Marikas car and are following us. Marika has a party after the party she promised someone she would attend. She seems comfortable burning the candle at both ends.

We arrived at the winery a little early and we were first to arrive. There was no prize for that. Our genial hosts were ready and pouring wine for us. We were a couple glasses into it before anyone else arrived. The general gist of things is an hours worth of wine and hors douvres in the tasting room followed by dinner in the barrel room of the cellar. Which is exactly what went down.

Dinner was 4 or 5 courses of fancy food plus dessert and coffee. Excellent grub. I will try to remember what we had. Let’s see, a roasted beet salad to lead, then grilled duck breast with greens and rice, a filet with veg followed by a very rich chocolate dessert. Each course had a different wine to go with it. So you can end up quite drunk and very full unless you are careful. Last year I got plastered and passed out in the car. This year I took care and was fine. Our evening finished back in the tasting room with more wine. I just tasted.

We left for home. Not the first to leave but close. The drive was rainy though not so bad. We stopped for gas and my CC rejected twice. Second one same. Had to call the GD card companies which did not help. Both companies claimed it wasn’t them. Sure. I found a third card in my wallet and it worked. Tonight we will get home!!

Continued on our way. Another 45 minutes. Not much doing. Backseat asleep.

Got home. Let dog out. Fed him. Brushed teeth. Went to bed. Long day.

My daughter is crazy. Just want to get that out.

We are at mid week, not much going on. Usual workout. Usual, except when I woke up Marika she exploded with anger. I wake her every day for the trip to the gym. Without drama. And she has no excuse. It’s fun! Great workout in spite of attitudes. Even stopped at the coffee shop on the way home for pastry and coffee. Miss attitude did warm up a little.

I have three appointments today. The first is picking up my car from the speed shop. It’s finally done. Took forever. I am half excited and half relieved. Whatever it is, car is back.

The girl with the attitude tattoo gave me a ride to Sacramento. Because of rain and bad roads we did not get there till 1145. And I have a noon appointment in the office. It seems likely I will be late to it.

So, the car. Faster, better mpg, sounds like a race car. I like it.

Called the office on the way from the shop. They know I’m late. Two minutes, I was forgiven. Clients an interesting pair. He owns his own small business and makes some money, nothing grand. Wife pulls down half a million a year as an advisor. And she looks the part. I was intimidated. Nice people though she never smiled and appeared to be in pain during our entire discussion. He is a nice guy.

My next meeting was at the local Starbucks immediately after my other appointment. This is not a client meeting. I am meeting with a financial advisor aka a referral source. I am same. We had a meet and greet to see if we can refer to the other. It was productive.

Returned to the office and kept working. Much to my chagrin. Made calls. Usual crap. Went to the bank. Went to the other bank. Had conversations with the speed shop guy. Just discussing the retune. Went home. On the drive I had a chance to stretch it out a bit. It is raining like hell so no big try of the turbo. Just a little.

Stoped at Target for the wife. Some stuff for school. I first checked out my headlights, they seemed dim. One is burned out. And the shop was supposed to change out to LED. Called Josh at speed shop. He said the lights were in process. Which means car NOT done. Christ. Later I guess. And tomorrow a new bulb for headlight.

Dinner was ready when I got home. Marika made potato patties. I had to step in and help, I happen to be the best at it in the entire family. We also had baked stuffed tomatoes and a veg. And it’s my daughter so there was a bottle of wine. Excellent meal.

Now I sit and watch TV. Good TV. Wow. I am hitting the hay in a moment. Have to shut down the house.

Today was far more boring than yesterday. Today was dry, yesterday was a torrential downpour. Luckily I only had 275 miles of driving to do. An appointment in Dublin which was a one way, three hour trip. Client is from San Jose and I did not want to drive that far. Go that far and I would need a hotel.

Back to today, no long drive or rain. I prefer today. This morning I worked out alone, Marika having spent the night in Dixon. I can manage alone, either way. But it would be nice if she showed up once in awhile.

I had no visitors today at the office. Nice. My one pm and 5 pm both cancelled. I like that. Yesterday, after I got back late from Dublin, I did have one visitor picking up several returns and he left a $5K check when he hit the road. So, picking a preference, I like anything involving getting paid.

Yesterday for dinner we had thanksgiving again. Which I really like. Today we had Mexican in honor of dia de tres. That’s Tuesday for you gringos. It’s a toss up mostly, but I have to pick turkey.

All the time I spent driving yesterday, five+ hours, today I used for working. Now I must say, being isolated in my car for five hours is better than any day working even with extreme traffic and weather. I don’t have anyone talking to me or asking for anything. And only one phone line I can choose to answer or not. Not.

Not much else going today or tonight. We ate our tacos. Now we sit and watch some truly awful holiday special. You can call it special all day but that don’t make it special. Soon we go to bed. Which is nice. I am still tired from last week

Today we actually slept in. There is nothing going on today. Emily does have a lot of class work to do for the kids for Christmas. Which involves me as well. That’s a tradition.

This morning I had pie for breakfast. All three kinds. It’s a tradition, I make pies for the holiday we all eat it that first day. After that, it’s all me. No one else eats any. I don’t understand. But I do love pie.

Today is Sunday so we got to enjoy the big paper. With my pie. At ten, almost at the very moment I finished pie and paper, our electrician Walter showed up. He is here to get paid for the wiring job on the workshop. He finished it on Saturday. It’s nice to have projects done and the workshop is now almost usable. All it needs is heat.

And since I am working on Christmas decor for Emily’s, I got to use the shop right away. All I had to do was make one cut. But, as it is with any project, I need the correct tools. Did I mention the contents of the shop are here but still in the condition they were put in by the movers? No? Well it’s true. To make aforementioned saw cut I needed a straight edge and a pencil. Had to find those first. Took ten minutes. Needed safety glasses too but did not find those at all. I hope my regular eyeglasses suffice. After all this, cut was made. Straight and true.

I have another project to do this week. I am building out the rest of the kitchen pantry/closet. I find nothing wrong with the way it is. Emily feels there is room for improvement. To do the project I need to pull the proper tools from the shop pile. So while I when I finished that simple cut I then went through all the boxes and put together all the tools needed to hang four new shelves and a divider. The drill I found in the last box. They are now all staged for me in the shop. I am a now able to dream of the day when I have installed the workbenches and can get back to making things.

Emily took a break from kid Xmas so we could both run out and do a little shopping. Which includes a fresh cut Christmas tree. Our first since 2001. We had been dedicated fake tree users since 02. We sold or tossed the fake tree in one of our moves. And last year in the apartment we had nothing.

We drove to the only lot I have seen in Auburn. Not a huge tree lot but all the trees they had were nice. Emily intended on getting something different from our “usual” which is a Noble Fir. She searched the lot high and low and Emily chose a Noble Fir. Same kind as alway. Even same as our fake tree. I had the tree netted and a stand attached. Had to buy the stand. I was out the door for $120.

After the tree lot visit we had to do a Target run. Nothing exciting, lights for new tree. The fake we dumped had permanent ones.

We hauled the lot home. Two trips to get all the crap in and a quick trip for the tree. The tree got a temporary home in the front room.

Emily went back to kid stuff. I had some menial tasks to do.

When she finally finished, she put the turkey soup on the burner. Heated slow but it finally got there. We managed to put it all together. I fried up potato patties and they were incredible.

After dinner a little TV. And pie. Now I am in bed. Em is getting up at 445 and I have to be in Dublin at 11. Start of a busy week.

It’s a day for celebration! I woke up at 840am. My god, so late. And we wanted to leave by 9 so that’s out the window. I have not been sleeping well the past couple of weeks so I really am excited about sleeping in today. Of course, today we are headed to SF for the auto show and had wanted the early start. What with the distance and crap weather we need time.

We got in late last night from the annual Sullivan family day after thanksgiving thanksgiving. I meant that. Our good friend Roma is the matriarch of the Sullivans and the 2nd thanksgiving is at her house every year. She is getting kinda old, now is 87, so family likes to gather when able. We have known Roma, and her late husband Dick, for about 20 years. We met at the T Birds baseball stadium. We were host families for the team. Spent a lot of time together did a few things. Friends. Now we go to Thanksgiving2 every year.

As I was saying, we got in around midnight last night. Jax is sick and has been having diarrhea all over. Lovely. He is a very old dog and it’s freezing outside so we can’t just toss him out. Dog has no control of his bowels on a good day. Today is def not a good day. He sleeps with us which is problematic. Especially when he has the squirts. I got up at 130 to take him out and he had already “leaked” on the bed cover and blanket. We were up with him several more times as well.

Emily decided to skip the auto show this morning and stay home with Jax. This will minimize the excess feces all over the house. Prob a good thing.

Marika and I got on the road by 10. Later than we wanted. We have just gotten to Dixon at 1115 to pick up her boy toy, Jutt. He is our third wheel for the day.

And, so far, the weather is fine. No apocalypse as predicted by the weather service. Just some light rain. So much for the weather forecast. The drive was totally unaffected by traffic and weather so we got to the city quickly. I think searching for parking and getting to Moscow Center took longer.

The auto show was just as expected. I enjoy seeing all the new models and my own models I already own. This years show seemed a bit off. No Mercedes. The new Mustangs were not present. Corvette had only two cars. Just not much there. Every other company was in place. There was finally a Tesla I wanted to see but again not there. Still, all in all, loved the show. It’s a cheap diversion for the day. They have a bar there too and we always go. The bartender poured us three extra strong drinks, without asking, then took our cash and put it in the tip jar. He said his boss wasn’t there. Everybody wins.

We were there about 5 hours. Takes awhile to look at that many cars. Again, no rain on the way out. Weak storm.

We decided to get dinner on the way home. Took some long discussion to finally pick a place. Ended up at Trader Vic’s in Emeryville, a family fave. Jutts first time. We all had Mai Tais, a given considering the Trader created them back in 1944 and we were in his house. It’s the polite thing to do. We also ordered an appetizer, crab artichoke dip, because all of us had skipped lunch. Actually, we had cocktails for lunch but they weren’t too filling. But, we had to eat something quickly. Dinner was the usual affair, food with a South Pacific flair and exotic taste. I had a yellow curry dish which was fantastic. I was surprised how good it was. All three of us went head down on dinner and did not raise up till satisfied. Hungrier than we thought. No room for dessert. We sat around and talked for quite a time before we headed out for home.

The weather was still mild with minor drizzle all the way to Dixon. I slept most of the way. The cocktails and food put me over the edge. Fortunately Marika was fine and did the driving. The drive up the hill to Auburn had more rain but still little traffic so we made good time. Of course, soon as we reached Lone Star we found one slow car in front of us.

Got home and unloaded the car. Checked on Jax, no squirts all day! Maybe he is getting better. We can hope.

Not much else to the evening. I wrapped 10 advent gifts for Emily because advent starts tomorrow and I am not one to be late.

Now it’s bedtime. Emily is snoring loudly next to me. Hopefully I won’t have to nudge her to bring quiet.

It’s finally here. A day with a built in excuse to cook door eight hours and then eat for ten minutes. One thing is true as it was when I was a boy, today is about pie. It’s the only reason I show up. Really true, the pie keeps me coming back. I make pie at Christmas too. Or I would probably skip it. Call it in. Probably why we don’t do anything for the 4th. No pie.

First thing this morning, I mean after tooth brush, and some yogurt, I opened a bottle of fine French champagne for the bride and I to enjoy. Marika loves champagne too. But she is not here. Too bad, so sad, for her. Bubbles were very nice. Don’t get them often enough. But always on Christmas and Thanksgiving. And def first thing in the morning.

This holiday we are not having a crowd. Emily will cook for a crowd, but there is only going to be four of us. Marikas boy-toy, Jutt, will be our fourth. And, I made three pies, so I am one to talk.

About now, Marika returned from Dixon. Poor timing on her part, she will be enlisted to help prepare dinner. Haha. I gave her a glass of champagne which always improves her mood and makes her more compliant.

The next five hours were all thanksgiving prep. You can imagine the work. At 2pm the turkey went in. And we relaxed a bit. Jutt showed at about 3 and we were off to the races. We sat and enjoyed a cocktail. And a small charcuterie. Chatted about things. You know, things. Talked about Jutt’s previous thanksgiving, ours is his second of the day. He had one with his fam earlier today around noon or one.

Our turkey was ready around 5. When the turkey comes out it’s mealtime. I carved up the bird while others brought the rest of the food to the table. See, if you only have one task, you wont have anything else to do.

I probably don’t have to describe eating. The meal is just like everyone else’s in America. At our house the food is fantastic. We have wine, so so this year, and we eat a lot. Shocking. I know we enjoy it. The eating at least, not so much the cleanup. Or the prep. This year every part of the meal we made turned out perfectly, which is worth noting. It often does not happen that way. Some years are a complete bust. This must be a reward for all the practice we have had.

After our meal we did the usual. Unbutton the pants and relax. I made more cocktails for all of us. I had a Kahlua and cream, something I have not had in years. Long time. Emily went the same route and had a drink she used to enjoy long ago. Maybe that’s a thing to get sentimental at holidays, I don’t usually.

Good news. Time to eat pie. It’s been since last Christmas, and I am ready. I whipped some cream, and brought it and all three pies to the table. Personally, I have a piece of everything. They are my faves and I can’t think of a reason not to. I love pie. The lemon was tart with perfect meringue. The pecan was almost like eating a candy bar with gooey filling and nutty crunch. And the pumpkin was exactly what I want it to be. I think everyone else enjoyed them. I really wasn’t paying attention. They can Yelp me if they want. I love pie.

After dinner was the usual. We cleaned up and put away food. Em and I sat and finished watching Home Alone while the other two played dominoes. That’s our day.

it’s close to midnight and all are asleep except me. I will be soon. Emily is snoring like a chainsaw so it may take awhile. Good night.

My Tuesday started out same as always. Feed dog, make coffee, dress for workout, wake the kid and head out.

Most weeks, Monday to Thursday, are like this. Exactly like this. Same tasks at same time. It’s great! Keeps me getting out of bed every day.

Well, kid and I went to workout. And things were different. That’s because my trainer is becoming slightly more sadistic with each passing day. Today is a passing day. She ramped up the workout to insane levels just because she hates me. I guess. It’s Thursday evening and I am still quite sore. And I am working out in the morning.

Ok. I digress. She, trainer Pam, destroyed me. Meanie. After the workout she had something new. She went into how we should run my future workouts. What I wanted from them. Etc. Then she wanted to go over my diet and how I could improve it to get more out of my workouts. I had no idea she actually cared. Probably professional care. But care, nonetheless.

This conversation prompted me to call my diet coach Kelly. She thought I should call the nutritionist to ask what diet changes might improve my workout results. My call elicited a suggestion of more protein in my diet. Which is what the trainer said. So I guess I need more protein to improve my life. Ok.

Back home. Cleaned up and enjoy a day off right? No. Tomorrow is turkey day. We did the last of the shopping. Then I baked pies for 4 plus hours. It’s my duty. Every holiday. Today I made a pumpkin, maple pecan and lemon meringue. And they are perfect. Really perfect. I outdid myself. Man am I good. See what I can do without the extra protein in my life? Man, I will be amazing once I have it.

I finished up the pies and set them in a safe place. We have cats and all.

I don’t want to neglect Emily’s input. She was working too. Just not here. She had a dentist appointment in Vacaville at 11 and then went to her classroom to get it Christmas ready. She got home close to dinner time about when I finished pies.

She made a funny leftover dinner, a sort of sweet potato skins stuffed with leftovers. Turned out great. Which really was a surprise.

Our evening was normal. After finishing dinner, and cleaning the kitchen, we sat and watched the usual bad TV. And went to bed. Marika is away till tomorrow. She likes to avoid all the work that goes with that.