New Year's Eve Morning 2009

Had a very fun holiday week.  On Sunday we met up with some friends for a post Christmas - pre New Year's party.  Kittye and Bruce Wallies invited a group of us for an evening of singing, snacks and fellowship!  Kittye and Jeri's grandaughters, Mallorie and Cassandra led off the singing with three of their favorite songs.  Cassandra on guitar and both singing very sweetly!  Then Bruce's brother-in-law, Joe led us in some Christmas Carols!  It was a fun evening.

Monday we met with friends David and Carol Prime and daughter Sophie along with friend Sally Black for lunch.  When Ted first got into horses he met Sally and she was one of his trainers in English riding.  David came over from England and worked for Sally.  They have been friends for a long time.  We had an enjoyable lunch and got caught up on what everyone was doing these days.

Tuesday Max got a haircut, I got my nails done and it was movie night for the "Girls Night Out" group!  We started with Margarita's at Casa De Pico and then went to see "It's Complicated".  A cute and funny "chick flick".

Yesterday we met our friends Jim and Della Crownover to see "Avatar".  All four really enjoyed the movie.  It's almost three hours long but never dragged at all for me.  It has an interesting story line and we really enjoyed the special effects.  I thought it had great imagination!  After the movie we had dinner at California Pizza Kitchen and came back to our house for a card game of Phase 10.  Della was the big winner at cards!  A very enjoyable day.

Today is New Year's Eve.  We are going to friends Tony & Gina Gutowski for a party this evening.  Gotta get going because I need to get groceries so I can actually cook something for the party!  Whew, these holidays inspire a lot of cooking!

Ted and I wish everyone a very safe and happy New Year!  And remember..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Christmas 2009

Christmas Eve our friend Peg came over for dinner and then we played Phase 10, a card game, which Peg won. Then we played Farkle, a dice game, and Ted won! I didn't win but Peg brought me "special coffee" so it was a great evening by all!

Ted and I had a quiet Christmas morning with Max. He had two toys to unwrap and he was a happy camper! He really enjoys tearing off the paper! I made Flying J sweet cream pancakes for breakfast, yummmm! Ted gave me wonderful presents this year; a beautiful black coat with matching gloves, a beautiful black scarf and a diamond Eiffel Tower! A wonderful Christmas for me!

That afternoon we headed for Carlsbad with our friends Jeri and Stan. Jeri's son Tony is married to Gina and Gina's sister Lenette and her husband Ron hosted Christmas dinner this year! Attendees were: Ron's mom Julia, Ron's son Robert and daughter Melissa; Lenette's dad Jim and mom Josie; Tony and Gina, daughter Mallorie (14) and son Trent (9); Jeri and Stan and last but not least, Ted and I.

Lenette is Italian and their traditional Christmas dinner is spaghetti and Lenette made a wonderful spaghetti meat sauce and pasta! We also had salad, garlic bread and little vino! Lenette had yummy home made cookies for dessert! We had a "bring a gift - take a gift" exchange. Ted ended up with a Chevron gas card (very useful for us) and I got a Starbuck's card and glass (good for me)! A great evening was topped off by a fun Charger win! I was neglectful in taking pictures, so only got pictures of a few when we first got there. Probably had something to do with the Charger game or maybe the wine!!!

Yesterday we had lunch and dinner with our friends Jeri and Stach (Stan) and Grandkids, Mallorie and Trent since Mom and Dad were working. Jeri made a book for me of pictures on trips the four of us had been on and included our girls cruise and actually had the book published! It's really cool and so sweet! For Ted Jeri found and had made the perfect gift. She knows about red lips and also that I end the blog with "Ain't Life Grand!" (although she doesn't approve of my grammar!)   So she had a hitch cap made for Ted as follows:

A great Christmas season..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Christmas Eve 2009

Ted had lunch on Tuesday with his friend Jeff Goodhartz.  Back in the early to mid-s 70's Ted lived in San Diego at Reynard Arms Apartments.  This past November we visited Bill and Ginny Nasse in Missouri.  They also lived at the same apartment building as did Jeff.  Right before we left in September, Ted tracked Jeff down quite by chance.  He tried to find him at Granite Hills High School but Jeff had retired from teaching last year!  He tried to get him on Facebook with no response from Jeff.  He was pretty sure he lived in Jamul so Ted went to the Post Office.  He thought maybe they could send Jeff a post card and tell him Ted was trying to find him but they wouldn't do that.  As Ted was leaving the post office, someone who had been inside when he asked about Jeff told Ted that on his street there was a house with a sign that said "Chalet Goodhartz".  So Ted drove up there, found the house and sure enough, it was Jeff!  The other day Jeff was driving by and stopped in at the campground to say hello.  Then on Tuesday they had lunch together with another Reynard Arms friend, Pete.

Yesterday Ted had lunch with a former co-worker, Jonathan Pullen.   You might remember that we visited Salida, Colorado on behalf of Jon and Pam Pullen!

Today we've just been hanging out enjoying the day, our friend Peggy is coming by after work for dinner.  Yes, I am actually cooking!  I have some Pasta E Fagioli cooking in the crockpot!  It is one of my Dinner Studio dinners.  It's got pasta, sausage, kidney beans and tomatoes in it.  Smells pretty good!  I'm also making some cornbread, with my secret cake ingredient (Peggy taught me) and it's delicious!

Ted and I wish all of our friends a very safe Merry Christmas and remember..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Sketchy wi-fi!

Unfortunately at Pio Pico, our wi-fi is sketchy at best!  We use a special antenna booster and it definitely helps but sometimes is not strong enough to use the computer efficiently!  In other words, IT DRIVES US CRAZY and the blog can't always get done!!!!

Anyway, Thursday we had lunch with our friends Jeri and Stach Gutowski.  They are close friends and it was great to get together with them.  My best friend Peggy came over for Survivor in the evening!  The three of us are long-time Survivor fans. 

Friday was some last minute Christmas shopping and we stopped by Ideal Plumbing, the company I retired from.  It was fun to see everyone that was there.   Our friends, and owners of the business, Don and Melissa are our property managers on our rental.

On Saturday we had Christmas with our friend Peggy and her family.  Her son, Sean, cooked a prime rib that was delicious.  We had creamed spinach, twice-baked potatoes and a delicious slaw.  Of course dessert was scrumptious, an apple crisp and a pumpkin trifle, both made by Peggy of course!  We never go hungry at Peg's house!  It was also a celebration for her Dad's birthday.  It was a fun day. 

Charger Sunday was fantastic.  What a squeaker of a game, so exciting and thank goodness, a good result!  After the game we went back to Peg's for leftovers (even better than the first time around) and Survivor finale!  It was an interesting season for Survivor!

Today was heaven!  Ted, Peg and I went to breakfast at D-Z Akins.  They have a two egg, two pancake, 3 sausage or bacon for $3.95.  Breakfast was up to their usual tasty standard!  Peggy found an ad for a 1-hr foot massage for $20.00, so the three of us decided to go for it.  It was wonderful.  We were all in at the same time (lined up side by side) and they started with our heads, necks, shoulders and down our backs.  Then they worked on our arms and hands.  From there, our feet (which were soaking in warm water).  After our feet they worked on our legs and back.  It was all heavenly!  We will definitely try it again.

Having a massage..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Girls Night Out 2009!

Wednesday night was the GNO Christmas get together.  As always, Peggy is a terrific hostess and what a fun night it was. There was yummy food such as Pasta with Alfredo, shrimp, artichoke, edamame, snow pea sauce. We had zucchini casserole, broccoli, chopped salad and before you think we eat too healthy, a to-die-for apple trifle! The drink of the day was a new concoction of bourbon, carmel apple cider, champagne with cranberries for prettiness!  There were lots and lots of laughs (we are a bunch of crazy women) and we all ended up with great gifts!

Ted and Max stayed home and had Filippe's Pizza!

Girls night out..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Back in San Diego!

We are back! We had a fun and busy weekend in Atwater, California. Vicky and Billy hosted the red lips group for the six time and such a fun time it was! There was a total of 18 people involved with some coming and going. We pretty much lived at their house all weekend! There were laughs galore, food galore and lots of catching up! For Friday nights' dinner I made a gingerbread and pumpkin Triffle! Most of you know I don't cook so I called Chef Peggy and off the top of her head she came up with the Triffle. Everyone was amazed that I made it and that it was delicious!

Billy and Vicky's son plays in a band and has many musician friends. He invited them over Saturday afternoon and they set up in the garage and played for us. They played the rock and roll from the 60's high school days, surf music and more. The cutest drummer is Vicky and Billy's great grandson! He's ready to join the band.

Saturday night was the gift exchange. Each person brings a gag gift and a good gift. The best gag gift this year came all the way from Austria. Not sure how they managed to get it back to the states.   Phil and Elaine brought it and it was wrapped beautifully. Vicky chose the package and as she slowly peeled open the paper, decided it looked like a dead animal. Guess what, it was! It was a stuffed dead weasel, with teeth! Our mountain woman, Neddy decided she liked "Glen" and took him off her hands.  Boy was Vicky happy about that! I'm not going to tell you about the naked hillbilly I got! But we all had a lot of fun!

Of course there had to be a red lips picture!

We all appreciate Vicky and Billy for hosting the party.

On Monday we left the cold and rain behind in Atwater and headed for Acton, California with our red lip friends Jim and Della for one night. After Della & Jim's left over spaghetti (which tasted even better than over the weekend) we had a good game of Phase 10.  It was good because I won for a change! Ted won over the weekend.   I think that is a first. Jim or Della most always win!

Yesterday we headed for San Diego and here we are at Pio Pico Campground in Jamul. We are scheduled to be here until January 4th (three weeks), 2010. YIKES!

Back in San Diego..."Ain't Life Grand!"

Leaving Fresno today!

Yesterday Ted noticed one of our front tires didn't wear well.  Apparently the tire toed in and ate up the outside of the tire so it had to be changed.  So yesterday Ted took it to a place where they rearranged most of the tires and put the spare on the back and realigned the tires.   Meanwhile, I stayed home and did some laundry and played games on the computer!

Last night we met Chip and Stephen with their girlfriends Haley and Marissa, for dinner.  We went to a pizza place with them.  It is fun to be with the kids and their dates.

Today we leave for Atwater which is up the road about 100 miles.  A group of "Red Lip Society" friends from Ted's High School are meeting for a Christmas celebration weekend, so more to follow....

Dinner with family..."Ain't Life Grand!"