Dear Family, Friends, and Diary,
Cleaning out the cameras I found pictures that really belong in the last diary, but I have already removed the "under construction" note there, so this requires a new page. ("Requires" - not really, since this whole website is self-created and without external rules, but I have my production practices and worry about losing track if I deviate. That comes from decades of doing the same thing.)
On our last day in Monte Sereno, we were up at sunrise and, eventually, joined by Ava and Sam on their way to school. They are not sunrise people.
This picture is another reminder of how big our "little grandkids" have become. Gigi is now the shortest in the shot and Ava the tallest. Sam has not caught up to his older sister, but he's trying.
On our drive back, we stopped twice. First for breakfast at Lou's Coffee Shop in Los Gatos. A good strip-mall breakfast joint where the vibe is more blue-collar than Silicon Valley techno chief and that's a good bridge back to Fresno.
Our second stop was at Hotel Mission De Oro in Santa Nella. Carla needed some electricity and we needed to check if we wanted to stay in our post-Christmas birding photo-shoot. The restaurant is called "The Kitchen" and, though empty at this early hour, seemed OK. (Meanwhile, we are still waiting to dine at another The Kitchen, the Sacramento spot with a months-long waiting list. If we can ever get our act together, we CAN pull strings to get in, since the owner grew up on Cambridge Avenue whose dad I visit most days.)
Speaking of our home street, nothing had changed while we were gone. It never does. A flower or two still hung on, despite the (California) winter. A couple homes have colorful Christmas lights, but the best decoration IMO is our neighbors' giant pine tree.(We do wonder how long it will stand and, when it falls, if pieces will reach our old house. Maybe.)
Inside, we have enough Christmas decorations to make it seem right. And I try to keep a colorful puzzle, done or not, out on the dining room table. Despite our investigation of "independent living" a few weeks ago, or because of it, home seems the only place to be. IMHO.
The balance of the Christmas Season is rushing at us. On Monday, the 23rd, we will have a family dinner with Marianne's sister Katinka and her family. We celebrate on that day because it was Mamo's birthday and we cling to traditions.
On the 24th and 25th, it will be just Marianne and me and that's OK too. On the 26th and 27th, we have a photo shoot planned in the San Louis and Merced National Wildlife Refuges, watching the migration of a zillion birds.
Stay tuned,
John and Marianne