Evie Goes to Tahoe

We were on the weekly boy’s call last week when #1 said something about Evie going to Tahoe, so I declared that that would be the title of my next blog.  Evie is #1’s mother-in-law.  I do not know if she has ever gone to Tahoe or has future plans to do so, but I’m sticking with the title.

I started writing this post early in the morning one day last week when I crawled out of bed around 4am because I could not sleep.  That was good practice for having to get up at 3:30am yesterday to drive my wife to the airport. For those of you that are concerned, I’ve since caught up on my Zs, but I’m still not changing the title.

The wife flew to the Cayman Islands to get scuba certified, as one does.  I told her on Facebook that I was trying to be strong for both of us, but I was getting a little weepy this morning until I was buoyed by a call from The Wig, who is a critical member of my emotional support team.  He buys and sells real estate for grins and let me know he just picked up a new joint in Chicago.  I’m planning a visit after he gets it fixed up.

In other wife news, she just got a new car, a 2017 Subaru Forester. We did the deal on Carvana, and it was painless, except for the large pile of dough coming out of my overextended HELOC. We got the Forester because we want to be just like the #1s.  Speaking of that crew, we had a great meal at SF’s Café Europa with them and The Hoteliers last Thursday.  The Hotelier picked up the bill, so I’m going to ask him if he feels like going out to dinner this weekend.

The JLo/Affleck union has me gaga.  I haven’t been able to follow any other celeb news.  This article said he was seen napping, kissing, and crying on his honeymoon.  I only remember crying on mine. Plus, we were treated to a naked JLo pic she took on her 53rd birthday for her Booty Balm. She is so down to earth.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ben-affleck-jennifer-lopez-paris-honeymoon_n_62deb41de4b06e213fc1bd04

There was some interesting news from the 1/6 committee last week, such as the outtakes of Trump’s 1/7 speech in which he “condemned” the violence and did a lot of whining that he didn’t want to say the election was over.  The video of the putrid Josh Hawley sprinting from the mob he egged on was good for a thousand memes. Folks on Twitter put a wide range of music to it, from the Benny Hill theme to Chariots of Fire to Runnin’ with the Devil. But it was not all fun and games.  We found out that Pence’s Secret Service agents were calling their families to say goodbye.  If heads do not roll for these crimes, especially the orange one, then you can throw the U.S. democracy into the dustbin of history.

I needed a couple pops after that last 1/6 committee session.  But if you are looking for a reason to quit, here’s one.

https://people.com/food/velveeta-introduces-a-cheesy-martini-garnished-with-pasta-shells-and-stuffed-olives/

We’re All Grateful

 https://www.yahoo.com/news/kelly-ripa-says-she-grateful-181732856.html

This Beanie Feldstein / Lea Michele contretemps on Broadway has me sideways.  I hope you guys are doing OK.

So, it has been a busy time since my last post, as my wife and I are social butterflies.  When we met, she was a tad shy, but I’ve managed to draw her out of her shell over the last 37 years.

As mentioned, the Wig descended upon us on Independence Day. I always have to prep myself when this dynamo comes to town.  He was here to drop off his daughter’s Dachshund before heading to the Windy City for a month. He’s such a sweet dad, at least compared to me.  I’m not taking any animals anywhere on any form of transportation.  

We had a nice BBQ and were joined by his son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter.  I went to Fieldworks to get some special beers.  The last time we were in Richmond he provided a local brewery’s output, including some freaky fruit-based concoction.  I could have countered with Fieldworks’ Strawberry Banana Parfait, but I am not a wiseass. Alas, it was a short stay and I drove him to SFO the next morning.

The next event was a reunion with the Poughkeepsie Kid and wife.  They live up in Santa Rosa, so we do not see them too often.  They were renting a Russian River house for the week, so we spent the day with them and three of their five kids. The Poughkeepsie Kid was the guy who hired me at the place where I met my wife, where numerous couples also got together in the 1980s. We spent the night at a cool little inn called the Highland Dell in Monte Rio.  

This past weekend we got together with The Bankers, The Belgians and #1s.  We were celebrating #1’s retirement and The Belgian’s induction into the National Academy of Sciences.  We went for a cruise piloted by The Banker, sipping Chandon Spritzes and chowing down on the first-rate appetizers they provided.  

We then moved the fun over to our place. The Belgians provided a pile of ribs, and I grilled some chimichurri chicken.  We sat under the pergola and gabbed away, recounting some of the wilder parties from our younger days. Can you say belly button tequila shots? We also discussed future travel plans. Going inside to chow down, we presented #1 and The Belgian some “certificates” to mark their achievements.  Everyone had a great time and some touching thank you notes were sent out the next day.  We are very lucky to have had this FCMC group in our lives for the last 25 years.

Travelogue

I’ve re-read a few of my travel posts recently and have to admit they were not particularly scintillating.  However, it is not all celebrities all the time, so you’re going to hear about our recent Portland trip.

We were there last week to visit our daughter and her girlfriend.  We started our Northwest adventure at a bar named The Bible Club. After that was dinner at Relish, which I did not relish, but I am known to be cranky at times. I thought they needed to staff up and the food was only passable.

We met the girlfriend’s parents on Friday night, and everything went swimmingly.  We had a great meal and Rombauer wine was served with dinner, so I hold them in high esteem.  I’m sure the girls were nervous about this first meet and greet, but I was quite mellow as I had visited one of the area’s fine cannabis stores earlier.

Saturday was chill, with a quick visit to the Willamette River to check out the goings on.  The temp was into the 90s, so we did not spend a great deal of time outside.  We checked out an open house, which was going for quite a reasonable price when compared to Bay Area homes.  Dinner was at one of our favorite Portland haunts, La Moule.

Sunday brought us to two of Willamette Valley’s wineries, Rex Hill and Parrett Mountain.  After much consideration, the girls joined the Rex Hill wine club, which was the better of the two. We got some pizza for dinner and hung out at their abode along with their simpatico pup River.

That’s all I got on the cool city of Portland.  We’re back in the bay but I’m staying away from the FC parks for now based on this article.  

http://tinyurl.com/2su8rwc7

It looks like a few of MAGA’s finest, like Mulvaney, have finally had enough of Trump, based on Cassidy Hutchinson’s 1/6 committee testimony.  Unfortunately, there are millions of Americans who will never stop supporting His Orangeness.  Bring charges, put him in a suit that matches his face and be done with it.  Do the same with his entire cabal.

You want celebrity items? Yahoo is a good place to start.  There are always articles featuring Dua Lipa taking pictures of herself. And Elizabeth Hurley seems to have an endless supply of bikinis and lots of time to pose in them. And just so you know, Addison Rae is comfortable in her body.  My body is pretty comfortable right now as well because I had a massage this morning.

I just had a chat with the recently retired #1.  I think he has a future as a motivational speaker because I’m finally getting off my butt and getting this post up.  My next post will feature the tale of the rollicking good time I expect to have with The Wig, his son and daughter-in-law and granddaughter on the Fourth.  My old Binghamton pal is in for a surprise treat.