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Another good day with the kids yesterday. We had a bocce match (DH and I won but barely), then went to a sports bar to watch the Patriots actually win a game. Last stop at the Beach Club, then Italian takeout at the house. We drop them at the airport at 8:45 this morning. It was a great visit.

So I mentioned yesterday that we have a wedding in Scottsdale in October of next year and will probably visit Sedona? Well a second wedding invitation from my other nephew and his fiancé arrived yesterday and they are getting married in Madrid, Spain in early July. So a lot of wedding travel next year. My SILs don't want to do Greece in addition so that will be deferred until 2026, but we will tour Spain and DH and I will visit some other European destinations including his DS and DIL in Poland. So much for ratcheting back on travel in 2025.

Very few plans today other than water aerobics and DH golfing. Nine days until our next batch of company. Have a vital Veterans Day!

Good grief! I'm sorry, DD.

GREETINGS all

Another sunny day here. I slept in really late so a short day for me. I did some laundry and went to the gym for my walk. I am up to 14 minutes which I know sounds pathetically little but it's better than when I started. The place is still pretty empty. I am hoping it stays afloat as it is really a super nice gym. It's partially owned by a native american tribe whose members have privileges there so hopefully it will stay open even if not super profitable. There is another building on the property that offers family services to the tribe.

So the Dueling Pianos last night was fun though we did not stay for the whole thing. It was two player/singers who take requests for money. I requested "Light My Fire" with $10 but they had not gotten to it by the time we left. Lots of good songs but also quite a few that are too new for me. Lots of drinking encouragement. Younger crowd but it was ok.

DD glad you got through your parental visit and it sounds like you did some good things, whether appreciated or not. Sometimes older people seem to need to vent old issues and sorry they had to land on you. I am sure you recall I endured a lot of rude stuff at the hands of Crazy Pat in order to make sure my mom was ok and I don't regret it. So pat self on back and enjoy a bourbon...

CC I looked up that train ride. How cool!! We want to hear about it. Trains are so fun. Good scenery, no motion sickness, no driving and no TSA BS. How far is that place from you?

Hey Ann, I bet the new family loves hearing the lore of the property from you. Good of you to share it. Nice that they care.

Dog pill day so the braunshwager is thawed. Think of the song "great big gobs of greasy grimey gopher guts..."

Costco casserole tonight. Humble but tasty.

Tomorrow starts another week. Kiln opening Monday, Scrabble tuesday. And my midwest friends may arrive Wed. Rain predicted. Still not sure why they decided to do northern cal in the winter. Redwoods on the menu.

Cheers. Diane S

Back to home base. Sounds like everyone has had some good advent this weekend. The hunting group got 2 young bucks. My brother and my nephew were the ones who took the deer down. There is one hunk of venison in my freezer right now, but it is going to Wisconsin with DS. Sorry Miss 150, not a deer neck in sight. I wonder if anyone in my family does anything with that meat? My nephew and his family will definitely eat all the venison. His hunting and fishing skills help keep them all fed.

The visit with my Mom was pretty uneventful. I cleaned the fridge and did a lot of laundry, and even got around to getting the cat's litter box cleaned out and tidy again. I also made a lot of meals, more than I've cooked at home for weeks. There's a lot of stuff my Mom says that I just try to be patient with. There's always a part of the visit where she cries and asks me how much longer is she expected to keep going on? There is no good answer or comfort to offer to such a query, so I just try to murmur sympathetically. It does look very very tough. When I was leaving and she was thanking me she said, Oh, I know why we had you, even though we were disappointed you weren't a boy at first. Well, your Dad was more disappointed than me. I replied, I don't think so. Oh yes, you know, men want sons. Good lord, what a narrative after all these years. I'm 63, but my Mom still has to think about my birth as some kind of catastrophe, but she is happy now she has me. Well, at least it wasn't the abortion story this time.

Home with DH and DS. They are both napping. I'm sure they're very short on sleep. I'm not sure what will be happening for supper. I'm kind of done cooking for the weekend. My plans might be like Ann's menu, some peanut butter and jelly toast and some whiskey (or in my case bourbon).

Have a great time!