Friday, December 30, 2016

weekend read




If you are looking for a book for this long weekend, I suggest The Nest by Cynthia Sweeney.  Good, comfy read; there is a lot of mayhem here, but not the kind we have encountered all over the place in the last months.  Four siblings awaiting the bestowal of a promised legacy known among them as "the nest".  The oldest brother, Leo, has  managed to get his hands on most of it through various forms of emotional blackmail.  The story is about how three of the siblings come to understand loyalty, jealousy, sacrifice, and ultimately, forgiveness and understanding.  I wasn't sure I was going to like or empathize with these characters, but I did.  All but one grew into whole human beings.

I am binge watching Downton Abbey this weekend.  I saw it when it first ran but since it is now available on instant at the Flix (all except season 6), I decided to hunker down and immerse myself in their world.  It's every bit as good as I remember it!

Dago's tonight.  It's remarkably quiet in town, as least for now.  Crowds will probably increase tomorrow, there will be noise and fireworks galore tomorrow evening, and then our little village will revert to its serene, peaceful climate.  We are having some work done on the house over the next few weeks; I'll keep you apprised.

Opera note:    Tomorrow is Rossini's L'Italiana in Algeri.  You can listen to it at 10 AM (PST) on Sacramento's Public Radio station capradiol.org.

We had a "looker" come by the house this morning for a tour.  Maybe it will be a great New Year for us in the real-estate business. I hope 2017 is happy, healthy and sane for all of you, not matter what your business!


Saturday, December 24, 2016

the Christmas spirit





Once again this year I am cooking credo con salsa verde for tomorrow's Christmas dinner.

And once again I am reminding you to listen to Alan Maitland reading Frederick Forsyth's story,
The Shepherd before you put out Santa's milk and cookies and tuck up for the night.

¡Feliz Navidad y Prospero Año!


Sunday, December 18, 2016

just a blush




Just a blush of pink in last night's sky, but lovely nonetheless.  And right after this photo was taken we heard the hum and hiss of the spray truck trolling up and down the streets.  And high time, too!  Maybe now it will be safe to venture down to the malecón.  We plan to go to Fernando's puesto for comida around 2 o'clock.  I anticipate a bug-free feast.


Saturday, December 17, 2016

the opera salad




Today was my first "opera at the beach" accompanied by the usual shrimp salad ~ shrimp cooked at home instead of brought from Dago's.  See yesterday's post for shrimp info.  While Salome (R. Strauss) sang and danced and plotted (you remember the seven veils?  the thing about the head on a silver platter?) I definitely enjoyed this little feast.  Weather lovely, slight breeze has kept the mosquitoes away.  Here's to being here.


Friday, December 16, 2016

first Friday




No Dago's tonight; about a billion mosquitos are swarming around everything.  There is a bit of a breeze so we are being saved from sunset swarms.  But still, it is not a good idea to be out and about.  We await the fumigadores.  Otherwise, all is beautiful.

Oh, did I forget to tell you we are at the beach?


Thursday, December 8, 2016

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

when like-minds lunch



I took the train down to Berkeley today to have lunch with two wonderful young women whom I've know for about 35 years.  They are the daughters of a very dear friend who died five years ago.  The three of us get together yearly to mark the date and get caught up.  Today we had A LOT to talk about, especially the current state of political life in our country.


Before arriving at the restaurant I made a quick detour to The Cheeseboard for goodies; a seeded baguette, two loaves of City Bread, and four scones to last me until we head south next week.  Lunch was delicious, in the usual Chez Panisse manner, conversation was lively, wide-ranging, so very satisfying.  I'm relieved to know I'm not the only one . . .

By the way, that Capital Corridor Amtrak is fantastic!