Indian Meatballs!

Our friends, David and Vasi make the BEST Indian Meatballs! About 2 months ago, we went to Napa to a few wineries. Our other good friend, Gary, set us up with a private appointment with Biale to taste their new stuff. (I think I blogged about this special visit) WOWZA! Goooooood wines! Anyway, while there, the subject of cooking and wine came up. Especially the topic of spicy INDIAN food and their wine! Dave, the head marketing guy told us that EVERY Tuesday, they make lunch for the employees.....a time for them to get together, have a day off of bringing lunch from home, open a few bottles of wine and enjoy! Well, that is all that needed to be said. Being the GIVING, GENEROUS people that David and Vasi are, they volunteered to make them a meatball sandwich lunch on 'some Tuesday in the future'. Well that Tuesday was a few days ago. Dick and I went over to D and V's house and made 18 pounds of hamburger into about 120 meatballs!

The next day we loaded the car and made our way over to the winery. It was a rainy, drizzly day so the warm spicy Indian meatballs were PERFECT! We fed about 15 of the employees, opened a few bottles of wine and really enjoyed the 2 hour lunch! EVERYONE had a second serving and that made us very happy!

A great time was had! We'll be seeing these nice folks this Saturday, when we attend the ZAP (Zinfandel Advocates & Producers) Festival!

Sorry, no pictures.....I know, I kick myself now......NEXT TIME!!

Poopa Update!

After spending 3 weeks in the hospital.....Yesterday, they moved Poopa to Cypress, a Rehabilitaion Center, where they will work with him 3 hours EVERY DAY to get his strength back! Now he just has to perform! Jane is very pleased with this move. His pneumonia is gone and his back surgery is healing. He really does not have any 'medical condition' anymore to keep him in a hospital! YEAH!! We are all hoping that he will do what the therapist want him to do and get back to his 'dancing' self!

Thank you for your prayers and concern!

UPDATE: Saturday, January 23, 7:35 p.m.

YEAH! I just finished talking to Jane. She said that Cypress is quiet, clean and seems to be an excellent environment for Poopa! YEAH! He ate ALL of his dinner tonight and she made him do some light exercising and he complied!! The major rehab will begin on Monday. Let's just hope he is a trooper and does what they ask him to do! They weighed him this morning and has lost a lot of weight, but he really needed to! Jane seemed to think that his spirits were high and he was a lot more optimistic!!

WHEW! We are breathing a sigh of relief here! You never know what tomorrow brings, but as of right now, things are improving and looking good!! Thank you God!

UPDATE: January 27, 8:45 a.m.

Poopa is still doing GREAT! He walked around even MORE yesterday! Brother David has been helping him a lot! Seems like the Cypress Rehab facility has been a good match and we are sooooo thankful!! There are therapists who he will listen to, and others he does not.....but overall, he has shown improvement and that is all we can ask for! We will give him hugs on Sunday and Monday next week....it'll be good to see his smiling face, for sure! From here on out, we'll pray that he continues on this road and is able to go home soon!

Yo Yo Ma????

Yup, today was the day!!

After a slight roller coaster ride, I was able to be totally entertained by Yo Yo Ma! We were told that they oversold tickets and there will not be any seats for us volunteers!!! Boooo Hissssss..... I arrived in the morning, still hopeful that maaaaaaaaybe there would be ONE little chair, in the corner that I can grab!! I discussed my disappointment with a fellow volunteer and she waved her hand, saying, "Oh, we put our coats in our chosen seat anyway!!" So, after carefully considering this, I decided to join them! YES!! The majority of the volunteers are in their 70's and 80's, gotta LOVE this crowd! They are not going to take no for an answer!! hahahaa.... So, I grabbed my chair, in the back this time, and was THRILLED!!!

Wow! Can he ever play! He plays that cello with his entire body!! It was INTENSE! I was afraid the man was going to have a heart attack!!! Seriously!! Was wearing me out - in a good way!! ;)

I was not thrilled with the selection - Cello Concerto No. 2 Opus 126 (1966). Hmmmm, 1966? Yea, not one of the better classical years, in my humble opinion. But, still a thrill to watch him make that 1733 Montagnana cello or the 1712 "Davidoff" Stradivarius SING! I am not sure which one he played, nonetheless, it was perfection at its highest!

One thing I learned, he is Chinese but was born in Paris, France in 1955! Interesting!

The added bonus today was Michael Tilson Thomas was conducting! Everyone refers to him as MTT....he has quite a resume and has been the SF Symphony's Music Director since 1995. Everyone LOVES working for him and he has done so much to reach ALL walks of life in the area. This was my first time watching him conduct, and boy was it a TREAT! As a musician myself, I found his conducting to be VERY interesting. He did not count every beat of the music, which I thought was different. He also uses much of his body. When he feels like kicking his foot, well, he does! Bouncing? He'll do it! He was at the same time, very graceful. He talked a little bit to the audience and was very likable.

They ended with Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 2 - Little Russian (1872 - 1879). I could not help but think of the artists of this era that we just saw at The Getty. It was fun imagining the clothing of the time period, how would they dance to this, etc.

Another bonus were the HARPS!!! The cello and harp can make such sweet music. It was pure delight and again, I pinched myself during the concert. The clarinet solos were crystal clear, along with another favorite of mine, the french horn. I am in AWE of these musicians and their knowledge of their instruments.

The next Open Rehearsal is February 24th - Mozart, Symphony No. 36 Linz and Bruckner, Symphony No. 6. CORRECTION!!!!! I just happened to look at the schedule and noticed!! It is February 10th!!! WOOT WOOT!!! We have it TWICE in February!! On the 10th it will be a program titled, "Planets" with guest appearance from the Women of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus! Another treat in store for sure!

An Update on Poopa

I reported awhile ago that Dick's father was placed in the hospital in Visalia on January 2nd. Well, unfortunately, he is STILL there!! It appeared he had pneumonia when he arrived. They cleared that up - thank God. He was STILL complaining of his upper back ache. After more testing, determined he needed surgery on his back! They performed the surgery on January 12 - we were told, they put 'cement' between the vertebrae due to a 'fracture'. He is no longer in any pain! After the surgery, things were looking better but then he had a blood problem. After two blood transfusions a few days apart, things were looking good. Then, this afternoon, we received a phone call from Dick's brother that things were not OK. I guess Bill is not the best of patients. The therapists arrive and he refuses to try and walk! He is very very weak from laying in bed all of the time. Jane and David get frustrated because he is unwilling to TRY! There is talk that perhaps he can be moved to a rehabilitation hospital but, he is going to want to attempt to rehabilitate!

Dick and I have obligations up here until next Sunday, then, we plan on going down to Visalia. Thank you for adding a few extra prayers for him and Jane. She spends every day, all day, at the hospital by his bedside. She told me, in the evening, she opens her Bible and prays that he can come home soon.

I will do better of updating this blog too.

The weekend in Huntington Beach

I flew down to Huntington Beach last Friday to spend the weekend with Amy. Taylor had two basketball games, one on Friday, the other on Saturday so Dick stayed in SF. I got smart and rented a car for a day! Waaaaaaaaay better plan! I was able to go to my hair appointment while she was at work and beat her home from work on Friday!

The last time I was visiting, she talked about going to The Getty in L.A. She still had not gone, so this trip, being a rainy day planned on Sunday, we decided to give it a go. WOW! It was AMAZING!! Each building is separated by centuries containing Art representing each time period, separated by countries. We began in the Artist Featured building - 'Rembrandt and His Pupils'. We were BLOWN AWAY by the beauty and emotion that was displayed in these drawings! I mean, the raw beauty of FEELINGS comes right off of the canvas, unlike anything I had seen before. Just like music, art was created for the church. There were many scenes from the Bible that I really cannot find the words to describe their beauty. We toured around 7 buildings like this, taking about 4.5 hours to see it all. Our hearts were FULL of respect and appreciation to these artists!

The landscaping and architecture is also a work of art.

The views of LA\Hollywood, even on this rainy day were amazing!!

They gave us complimentary umbrellas!! I could not help to use mine as a pointer most of the time and Amy got a kick out of that. Here, I am pointing at an item in the 2000 year building....Ink Jet on canvas!! Yes, how we've evolved!

When in the LA area, check it out, you won't be sorry. It cost $15 for parking and the rest is FREE!!

I flew home on Monday morning out of Long Beach on Jet Blue. NEVER AGAIN! One saving grace is that the rain was so miserable AND San Francisco Airport closes when conditions are not just perfect, I had planned on flying into Oakland. THANK GOODNESS! SF Airport WAS closed! WOW!! There are many reasons why I do not like LB. We'll just say, lesson learned.

It was, as always, a very good trip. Amy and I always enjoy the one on one time together and are always sooooooooo very thankful that I am able to spend a weekend with her every now and then.

Dick watched both of Taylor's games - they lost both.....enjoyed his down time, had Kurt over and watched a lot of football. It is always good to come back home to open arms, a dozen roses, the most adorable card with sweet mushy stuff he wrote and BIG smiles and lots of hugs! Truly a blessing like NO OTHER!

Ahhh, the beauty!

Most of you probably know our good friends, David and Vasi (Taylor's PreSchool Director and her husband). Well, they went to Egypt over the Christmas and New Year holidays and wanted to share their stories. Wow, pretty amazing stories, to say the least!

One thing they missed was FOOD so we BBQ steaks at home and caught up last night. Ahhh, the beauty.

Brother David was in town to meet up with his college friends for dinner so he joined us! It was a special time so the tablecloth came out the candles were lit and we even used our SILVER for the very first time! Why NOT? I am a firm believer to USE IT, as often as we can! It is a set that has been in the Nash family for many years and we were honored to receive it from Dick's parents on our recent wedding anniversary! I think the meal even had a better flavor!! ;) Well, it WAS pretty special and it added a lot to the table. Ahhhh, the beauty.

Today, brother David wanted to go back to Union Square and get our opinion on some sports coats he was considering. We grabbed our Brooks Brothers gift card and a Crate and Barrel gift card and headed down. It was so nice, we had the windows rolled down and even had to put on the sunglasses!! Ahhhh, the beauty.

We actually found something at CB!!! We were given this gift card for our WEDDING 3 years ago and could never decide on anything. Today? A French Press coffee maker AND a coffee bean grinder! YIPPPEEE!! I tried to make 2 cups this afternoon and was somewhat successful. It is a 32 oz. maker so I don't think it does the smaller amounts very well. I will try again tomorrow morning for the larger amount.

Next stop, Brooks Brothers where I found 2 shirts - 50% off!! ChaChing! On the way around, we noticed many windows with ballet costumes. tutu's, slippers, and the like. Then I read the window....OHHHHH.......25th year celebration of the SF Ballet so everyone is partaking by having a special costume in their window!! Soooo adorable!! They were so ornate!

This was in the Brooks Brothers window

These were a few in the Saks window.

There were so many pretty outfits!! Ahhhh, the beauty! I could have taken pictures of ALL of the windows! But, I WAS with 2 brothers who were on a mission to go 'Men's shopping' so onward we went.

Brother David was successful buying 2 sports coats on sale, and bought lunch! It was a great afternoon, enjoying the day. Ahhh, the beauty.

Things floating around in my head.

1. So I was taking Gabby to her 'job' last week. I drove around for a little while trying to find a parking spot. FOUND ONE!! 2 Hour parking on the street!! SCORED!! So, I happily back my car in, double checked the small print on the parking sign, made sure that it was not a street cleaning day...All good.

We do our job and head back to the car, climb in, and I see something on the windshield....probably propaganda about SOMETHING....NOPE.... A TICKET!!!! Grrrr!!! I look, for NOT pointing my tires correctly on a hill that is more than a 3% grade. Ok, MAYBE this road was a 3.5% grade. WOW! I look at the cost..... $48.00!!! WHAT?

So, instead of paying $3.50 for the parking garage, I end up with a $48.00 ticket!! Yea, not to pleased about that!

Well, a lesson learned.

2. I've been having a 'stabbing' pain in my shoulder blade for awhile now. I finally went to the doctor and she thought Physical Therapy, along with two medications for pain, one to take at night and one during the day would be beneficial. Well, I am not the best patient. I don't like taking meds and I didn't want to go to the Therapy.

So, I tried the meds and they WORKED! Finally a good night's sleep! I take the medication only when it is so annoying I cannot stand it anymore but have found some relief!

The Therapy? Who has time for that and does it really work? What will they do that I cannot figure out myself? Ok, so I reconsidered and thought I'd give it a try. WOW! I went to one session and she gave me exercises to strengthen the shoulder muscle. I do them every day and have noticed improvement after 4 days! Impressed!

I will go to therapy one time a week for the next 3 weeks in hopes to learn how to strengthen this area.

After talking to her about HOW I injured it, I think I've come to realize that perhaps I increased my laps in the pool to quickly a few months ago. :-/

3. Always interesting to me when Nancy Pelosi attends our church on Sunday mornings....or are we attending hers? Well, whatever..... I mean, she IS second in command of our country, and here she sits, usually with her husband, at the Catholic Church. I am glad to see her, listening to the SAME sermon as I hear, partaking in the Holy Communion and prayers for our country. Her secret service men are outside with ear pieces tuned in and standing next to their dark blue SUV's, waiting to whisk her away when it is over.

4. We bought a book titled, "New York, Washington DC and the Mid-Atlantic TRIPS! 50 Themed Itineraries and 1131 Local Places to See." We are planning our summer vacation with Taylor and are really excited! I've NEVER been to any of these places so it is an education for me too since History was my least favorite subject and I did not pay that much attention. Dick went on a similar trip with his parents and brother the summer before 6th grade and it was memorable/good for him.

We'll be flying into Boston to start the trip. We have tickets to Fenway Park to watch the Arizona Diamondbacks vs Boston Red Sox the first evening! WOOP WOOP!! Yea, the cost of the baseball ticket was MORE THAN the cost of the flight into Boston!! Something is wrong with that! CRAZY!! The Yankee are not playing at home while we are there but I hope to get a tour of the park.

Well, just wanted to update my blogspot on these things that were floating around in my head.... I think I'll go for a swim now while Taylor and Dick work on homework.

New Year's!

Happy 2010!!!

And a happy start it was!! We were in Visalia with Taylor, Jane and Poopa. The DAY was spent watching The Three Stooges!! AMC had 24 hours of them! YAY!! (said sarcastically from Barbara of course - hahah) Well, we also made time in the afternoon to play TENNIS! We searched for an open court and found one at Mt. Whitney High School.

Taylor has had summer lessons in Tennis and of course Dick can play pretty good. Me? Well, I TRY!! I am just no good. Never been, more than likely never will. I would LOVE to be better, but was able to get a pain in my elbow after hitting it around for quite awhile and made the boys have something to talk about! hahaha.... We'll just say my 'technique needs work', according to Dickie. hhahahaha!!

Everyone made it to toast our Root Beer at midnight as Dick Clark - poor guy - counted it down for us. My family tradition is to bang pots and pans at midnight on the front porch so that is of course what we did. We banged and clanged and yelled, "Happy New Year!!!" Then, before the cops showed up, we ran back into the house! hahaha!! I don't think this quiet neighborhood was used to all of that racket!

We stayed around Visalia two more days then headed back home. As we were leaving, Jane decided Poopa wasn't getting any better with his back and developed a horrible cough. They ended up putting him in the hospital. He was diagnosed with, yup, you guessed it, Pneumonia! So, they started the antibiotics and he started feeling better. Then, they discovered a fracture in his spine!! They want to do surgery but Jane says not until their heart and regular doctor's return from vacation on Monday, January 11th.

Yes, keep those prayers coming for Bill and Jane. We talked to Bill on the phone and he seems to be hanging in there. Today is Friday and he has been in the hospital since Saturday, January 2nd - ONE WEEK tomorrow!

Other than that, our NEW YEAR has started out very well, no complaints. We continue to honor our Lord and thank him daily for all we are and all we have, for putting us together to share in this world and beyond. I wanted to try and start our days out earlier - by getting up by 6:30 instead of around 7:30 - 8 am, but it just has not happened yet.... hmmm, we are still considering it though.

We hope that you and yours are on to a good start for a new year also! If not, we pray that it turns around in a hurry!

Between Christmas and New Year's

The place to be? Central Coast!!

On Sunday, December 27, David & Morri, Jane & Bill, Dick, Taylor and I had 4 nights in a beautiful four bedroom home we rented in Cayucos. David drove Poopa and Jane in their car, Dick and Taylor drove in our car and Morri and I drove in her car with Gabby. We deposited Gabby at the Carlstrom's and continued on to meet up with the others.

First night was dinner at the Sea Shanty - of course - followed by an evening playing Dominoes! Much fun and excitement was had!! Since then, a TWO game minimum each day was played. We got HOOKED!! Even had Jane playing!!

The next morning Taylor, Dick and I went to Hearst Castle while Morri and David met up with Piper and saw a movie. Poopa hasn't been feeling well and had a horrible backache, causing him to sleep sitting in a chair for the past week!!

We've always done Tour #1 at the castle but decided to change it up and see Tour #2. I have to say, we all feel more educated now with both tours under our belts. The weather called for rain but not a drop came down! WHEW!

Taylor is such a trooper too. He really enjoys learning about new things and is such a good boy. It is a delight to travel with him.

We looooooove that pool!!!

Really is a treat to see!

The sunset for this night.

Each morning Dick and I were able to go on a nice 4 mile run. On Wednesday, we grabbed Taylor and had some basketball practice. We wanted to use the public tennis courts too but they were busy. I played against a wall while the boys practiced.

Doing the basics

"The encouragements"

Lunch at Mo's - pulled pork sandwich!!!

San Luis Obispo

Bubble Gum Alley!!

Those Cal Poly kids!!

It's a tradition!

Heavenly

On Thursday Taylor and I drove one car while Dick drove his parents home in their car. David and Morri left on Tuesday morning.

I have to say, this really was a nice vacation. Our house was very comfortable, the weather was perfect and it was very relaxing. Having the time to spend with Dick's parents with Taylor is very special and I know a memory that will last his lifetime. There were many laughs and quality time spent as a family.

Poopa has been complaining about his back hurting and has been doing a lot of sitting with a heating pad. It hurts him to lay down so he has even been sleeping in a chair! Poor guy! Much needed prayers for him. Better pray for Jane too for having to do everything - even MORE so than the usual - for him. She always says, "Growing old is not for the weak."

Next stop Visalia!

Christmas with Dick's Fam 12-25

The Nash tradition is the Christmas Breakfast. Jane sets the table with the china and silver. She serves an egg and chile casserole, curry peach, sausage and her famous biscuits.

Everyone has a 'popper', opens it and wears the crown during the ENTIRE meal! Next, everyone reads their corny joke that is in the popper. It is soooo funny to me because here you have such an elegant table, yet we are all in our slippers and 'relaxed' clothing - some even in p.j's! Having a conversation with someone with the paper crown on the head always gives me the giggles!! Pretty unique tradition, I love it!

For dinner, we went to brother David and sis-in-law Morri's house for a delicious Mexican dinner of tamales and tacos! Here we ALL are!

This is more like it!!! ahahaha!

Taylor's 'trademark' - chin up young man!!!

One of the gifts Taylor received was the Eiffel Tower!!! He had a fun time putting this together! I thought it turned out great!!! We were able to visit some friends while in town. The Hawkins family drove up from Porterville/Santa Barbara AND even from Hawaii!! Yes Janet, you DO look like the matriarch of the family!!! hahahah
Another blessed Christmas! We are so thankful each and every day to celebrate the birth of Jesus and will continue this celebration allll year long!!! Happy Birthday Jesus!!

Next stop......Cayucos!

Christmas with Barbara's Fam 12-24-09

We had a wonderful afternoon, yummy ham dinner, and gift exchange at my mom's. Love was in the air and we all enjoyed the time together.

Of course Kaelyn was the top entertainer of the day!

4 generations!

Sisters and a Mom

(I had a bad hair day and pulled it up)

Told you LOVE was in the air!!

Kaelyn LOVES Gabby.

Gabby can handle it for only so long.....

Amy lovin' Kaelyn!

Taylor called at 5 pm and asked to be picked up from his Grandparents - instead of 7 pm. We were delighted to have the extra time!

Not sure WHAT Kaelyn is doing with those kissy lips!!! hahahah

Taylor is CRAZY about his little niece!

We left around 8:30 pm and drove down to Visalia where Jane and Poopa were anxiously awaiting the arrival of their grandson!