Taking down the Christmas Decorations

Sharon and I started the process of taking down the Christmas decorations. I went over and got six of the larger boxes from the storge unit.

We spent the morning taking the ornaments off the Christmas tree. I love our collection of Christmas ornaments. The two of us were able to get the tree out of the stand and through the front door. I cut the tree up with my chainsaw and stuffed it into the green barrel.

Sharon got a couple of downstairs boxes packed in the afternoon. Ahead of the Deterding Ranch Neighborhood Christmas Party, Sharon added a number of new decorations this year. It is going to take us until at least Monday to get everything packed up and back to the storage unit.

While I really enjoy the house at Christmas, it is time.

To San Francisco and Back

Rolling from Carmichael about 9:50 am, we were in San Francisco about 12:15 pm with two stops. Rather than hunting for a parking spot on the street, we parked at the SFMTA - Sutter Stockton Garage.

From there, we walked to the Matador to meet Jack for lunch. A present for Jack's girlfriend was delivered to our house on Monday. Last weekend, we planned to bring it and meet him for lunch.

The three of us split nachos [housemade tortilla chips, beans, pico de gallo, crema, queso, cotija, jack cheese, nacho cheese]. Jack had a super burrito [rice, beans, pico de gallo, jack cheese, guacamole, sour cream], Sharon had enchiladas [grilled chicken, jack cheese, pico de gallo, crema, salsa verde] and I had two tacos [carnitas: pork shoulder confit, guacamole, chile de arbol salsa, pickled onion and borracho uno: modelo negra battered shrimp, mango salsa, cabbage slaw, guacamole].

We had talked about dropping some presents at Drew and Carmen's house in Orinda on the way. At one point, we thought that they would be home from the hospital in the afternoon. The hospital ended up keeping them an extra night. I punted on the idea of dropping the presents and we headed for home.

While we were driving home, we ended up talking to Drew for about 20 minutes. He was running home to pick up some things for an extra nights stay.

With one stop to change drivers in Dixon, we were back in Carmichael about 4:00 pm.

New Year's Day 2026

Up late on New Year's Eve, we slept late and were moving slow. The excitement for the morning was the birth of Dawson Michael Heringer! He was born at 8:24 am. Dawson was 8.8 pounds and 22 1/4 inches long.


We had talked about hiking with the Larkins in the American River Canyon. With heavy rain over the last day, we decided to stay closes to home. In the afternoon, we hiked 4.3 miles around Effie Yeaw Nature Center and Ancil Hoffman Park. We hiked down the river towards the Sarah Court River Access Park.

We finished the day watching Wicked for Good. I will post my thoughts on the movie in the next week.

New Year's Eve 2025

Sharon's brother Tom and nephew Eric came over about 6:45 pm. Tom has joined us for dinner and a movie on New Year's Eve in 2018 (Roma), 2019 (The Irishman), 2022 (Tár) and 2024 (Substance).

Sharon made a great dinner of wedge salads, prime rib, roasted potatoes, asparagus and yorkshire pudding.

I had thrown out a couple of movie choices to the group on Tuesday, including: Guillermo del Torro’s Frankstein; It Was Just an Accident; Train Dreams; and Jay Kelly. Eric and Tom pushed for Frankenstein. I will post my thoughts on the movie in the next week.

The movie finished up about 11:30 pm. I walked Tiber to the end of the neighborhood and back. The four of us went up to the master balcony at midnight to watch the Rancho Cordova fireworks, but there weren't any!?!

I spent some time screwing around with the lock on the garage door; it was beeping. I was about 12:40 am by the time we crashed.

Marty Supreme

Continuing our Christmas Day tradition, Eric, Tom, Jack, Sharon and I saw Marty Supreme at at the Cinemark Century Greenback Lane. We are on our annual journey to see all of the films that might be nominated for an Oscar. As of today, GoldDerby currently has Marty Supreme with the third best odds to win the Best Picture Oscar.

Marty Supreme is a sports comedy-drama film produced and directed by Josh Safdie. He co-wrote the script with Ronald Bronstein. The film is loosely inspired by the life and career of American table tennis player Marty Reisman.

Timothée Chalamet stars and was the co-producer. The film also features Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A'zion, Kevin O'Leary, Tyler Okonma, Abel Ferrara, and Fran Drescher in supporting roles.

Set in 1950s New York, the film follows Marty Mauser, a hyper-confident shoe salesman and motor-mouthed hustler who is obsessed with becoming the world's greatest table tennis champion. To escape his provincial Lower East Side life, Marty schemes and grifts his way into international competitions, eventually entangling himself with a wealthy socialite and an eccentric ink tycoon who bankrolls his journey to Japan. As his ego and relentless ambition push him toward a climactic world championship match, Marty must navigate the chaotic fallout of his own impulsive choices and the dark side of his pursuit of fame.

At dinner, Jack said "I wanted to like the movie more." He also said that he needed to see it again. Tom said that "it was tedious" in the middle. We eventually all agreed to give the movie a "B". Given some of the hype that Jack and I saw, we were expecting a little more. The movie is very frenetic.

On the way to lunch with my sisters, Jack, Sharon and I listened to the Big Picture podcast "‘Marty Supreme’ Is the Moment, With Josh Safdie!". After listening to the podcast, we increased our grade for the movie to a "B+". The podcast provides some insights into some of the nuances that I missed when we saw it...

Julie Tomasin Obituary

more pictures

Juliann Babette Tomasin (née Fiorio), 70, of Windsor, California, passed away peacefully on December 16, 2025.

Julie was born on May 18, 1955, to Mario and Ines Fiorio. The oldest of five children, she grew up in a close-knit Italian family on a ranch outside Gilroy, California, where she developed a lifelong love of the land, gardening, family traditions, and hard work.

Julie attended St. Mary's School in Gilroy and Notre Dame High School in Salinas. She continued her education at Gavilan College and Sacramento State, where she earned a bachelor's degree in Biology. She later completed a master's equivalent certification in laboratory technology at UC Davis. Her professional career led her to work in in-vitro fertilization laboratories, a field she found deeply rewarding as she helped others build families.

Julie met her husband, John, at a rugby tournament in Monterey. Although they did not reconnect for two years, fate reunited them at UC Davis Medical Center, where Julie worked in the emergency room lab and John was a fourth-year medical student. Their courtship was fast and furious and when John matched for his orthopedic residency in Jackson, Mississippi, Julie made the bold decision to follow him, packing her life into a U-Haul and moving across the country. They were married on June 2, 1984, at Mission San Juan Bautista and shared more than 41 years of a loving and eventful marriage.

In 1986, they welcomed their first son, David. After John completed his residency, the family moved to Columbus, Georgia, for his sports medicine fellowship, then returned to the West Coast in 1988. They settled in Windsor, California, where they built their family and home.

In 1991, they welcomed their second son, Christopher, through adoption and Michael, their "miracle" baby, was born in 1994.

Julie was a fiercely devoted mother. She shared a special bond with each of her boys and was overjoyed to welcome her daughters-in-law, Lo and Cassie, and her beloved grandson, Harrison, into the family.

Throughout her life, Julie faced extraordinary health challenges. Despite these hardships, Julie rarely complained and never allowed illness to define her. She continued to focus on others, always offering help and comfort to those in need.

Julie was deeply involved in her community, serving on the boards of, For Pete's Sake, where she helped bring a rugby field to Santa Rosa and the Italian Catholic Federation, organizing silent auctions and raffles. She had friends everywhere, including lifelong friendships from high school.

Julie loved to travel and was fortunate to explore the world with John. They visited many countries, enjoyed cruises and took multiple cross-country road trips throughout the US and Canada. She also loved working in her yard and took great pride in designing and shaping the family home. John often said that everything beautiful in their home and garden existed because of her. Julie will be remembered for her resilience, generosity, deep love for her family, and the many lives she touched through kindness, friendship, and service.

She is survived by her husband, John, sons, David (Losalini), Christopher (Cassie), Michael, grandson, Harrison and her four siblings, Francine Vorhees (Jon), Carol Duncan (Arliss), Danny Fiorio (Dina) and Richard Fiorio (Anne), as well as her numerus nieces and nephews.

A rosary will be held on Friday, January 16, 2026, 6:00 p.m and a funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, January 17, 2026, 11:00 a.m. at St. John's Catholic Church, Healdsburg.

49er Game plus to San Francisco and Back

Sunday night, Jack, Sharon and I watched the San Francisco 49er versus Chicago Bears NFL football game. In a thrilling back and forth game, the 49ers held on to win the game by the score of 42 to 38.

After the game, I took Jack back to the city. He and I listened to the live Bill Simmons podcast on YouTube on the drive. With the traffic fairly light, I dropped Jack at his apartment about 10:40 pm. I was back home by 12:20 am. A three and a half hour round trip.

We had a very nice visit with Jack from the last five days. We are planning to have lunch with him in the city on Friday.

Lunch Adventure with Clem and Lee

Gift exchange and lunch with my sisters

Clem, Lee, Daniel and Morgan stopped by in the morning for a Christmas Gift exchange. Although Clem is a little confused about the process, we had a nice time opening gifts.

[Note to self], I need to figure a better plan for next year. I want to be able to see Clem and Lee on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. I love the rhythm that we have developed with Sharon's family over the last thirty years, but the next couple of years are going to be special Christmases with Clem and Lee.

From there, we all headed to Vacaville. My sisters invited everyone to lunch at the Backdoor Bistro. The group included my sisters Lee Ann and Sharon, my sister Sharon's friend Jim, my first cousin Christine and her daughter, Clem, Lee, Daniel and Morgan, Jack, Sharon and I.

Although it wasn't the best venue for visiting-a long table in a noisy restaurant-it was a very nice get together. We are going to try to get everyone together again in early May to celebrate Morgan's birthday.

Angels and Demon Rewatch

Friday night after golf, Jack, Sharon and I watched Angels and Demons. Sharon and I saw the movie in the theater when it came out in 2009. The three of us watched in 2013.

At Haggin Oaks Alister McKenzie Golf Course

Jack, Sharon and I played the Alister McKenzie Golf Course at Haggin Oaks. We teed off at 11:48 pm.

I actually feeling pretty good about my swing. I am not hitting the ball as far as I would like, but I am making good contact and keeping the ball in play. I actually had a chance at six or seven pars, but couldn't get any long putts to drop. My major problem continues to be chipping, I made a mess around four or five of the greens leading to handful of eights and nines.

I ended up with a very liberally scored 113.

We were lucky. It didn't start to rain until we were on the 17th fairway. Jack and Sharon didn't play the 18th.

We started the round renting carts. Given that it was cart path only, I switched to a pull cart at the last minute. I enjoyed walking the course, while Jack and Sharon rode together.

Our fourth was Tim, a marketing manager for McAfee. He dropped after the eighth hole. His chipping was almost as bad as mine...

It has been several months since Jack played. He was a little rusty, but he can't still hit the shit out of the ball.

Christmas Day 2025

It was a wild night. A storm was slamming the south side of the house made it difficult to sleep. Additionally, it has been a long two and a half months; I am more than a little beat down physically and mentally.

A Christmas Day in four Acts.

Act 1

Jack, Sharon and I had a lazy morning. Sharon made Caroline Chambers Christmas Strata for breakfast. We had a very nice morning exchanging gifts. I got Sharon a necklace from Finland, a workout top, a golf top and guide books for Prague and Budapest. With Drew and Carmen staying close to home and Morgan and Daniel skipping Christmas Eve, I am missing them and the grandkids!

Act 2

Sharon's brother Tom and nephew Eric came over. We did a gift exchange with them.

Act 3

The five of us went to see Marty Supreme at the Cinemark Century Greenback Lane. We have a long tradition of seeing movies on Christmas Day. I will post all of our thoughts about the movie in a longer review.

Act 4

Eric, Tom, Jack, Sharon and I finished the day with dinner at Buca di Beppo in Roseville. We shared Antipasto Salad, Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, Eggplant Parmigiana and Chicken Limone. We have gone to the Buca on Howe Avenue a number of times on Christmas Day, including 2023, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2015 and 2014.

Christmas Eve 2025

I picked Jack up at the Sacramento Amtrak station at 2:50 pm. We rushed home to get ready to host Christmas Eve.

Everyone started to show up at 4:30 pm. The group totaled eighteen, including: Tom; Eric; Kevin, Leah, Lydia and Amelia; Steve; Steve's grandson Brian; Jim; Tim and Kathy; Will; Cormac, Erin and Mave; and, Sharon, Jack and I. Terry, Eileen and Brian's wife and baby called in sick at the last minute.

Sharon made a great dinner of Porchetta and broccolini. Everyone contributed to the dinner, including: Erin and Cormac - tiramisu; Lean and Kevin - mashed potatoes; Tim and Kathy - cheese puffs; Jim - breard; Eric - salad; Steve - ham; and, Tom - bread.

After dinner, there was a chaotic gift exchange. Everyone left just before 9:30 pm. I finished the night walking Tiber.

2025 Christmas Tree

Christmas Card 2025

See all of the Christmas Cards since 1997!

Christmas Cookies

Continuing a Frame Family tradition [2024, 2019, 2018, 2017], Sharon and Tom spent the afternoon making Christmas cookies.

Deterding Ranch Neighborhood Christmas Party

Over the last thirteen years, there has a been some version of a Deterding Ranch Neighborhood Christmas Party [2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024]. This morphed into a progressive dinner in 2015. When it became clear that the progressive dinner wasn't going to happen in 2022, Sharon and I decided to host a cocktail party. It has been a progressive dinner party again for the last three years.

Sharon and I hosted cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. Dinner (lasagna) and dessert was served at Jan and John's house. Sharon lamented that we have stopped doing a gift or ornament exchange.

The group totalled 20, including: Tom and Judy; Glen; Mike and Jill; Jan; Brad and Heid; Scott and Laura; Jim and Debbie; Audrey, Victor and Enzo; Sarah, John and Ben; and, Sharon and I. Anna was a server.

Sinners

We were originally scheduled to babysit Lee and Clem on Friday night. When Daniel turned up sick, Sharon and I watched Sinners. We are continuing our annual journey to see all of the films that might be nominated for an Oscar. As of today, GoldDerby currently has Sinners with the best odds to win the Best Picture Oscar.

Sinners is a horror film produced, written, and directed by Ryan Coogler. The film stars Michael B. Jordan in dual roles as criminal twin brothers It co-stars Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton (in his film debut), Jack O'Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Miller, and Delroy Lindo.

Set in 1932 Mississippi, the film follows twin brothers Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan). They return to their hometown to open a juke joint and start a new life. Their plans for a fresh start are quickly derailed when their community is besieged by a group of vampires led by a charismatic but sinister Irishman.

Both the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute listed it among the top ten films of 2025. It received seven nominations at the 83rd Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Drama.

When the movie ended, Sharon said "boo, boo, two thumbs down." She added if this film wins best picture that she is not watching any of the 2027 best picture nominees. I found the movie an odd mix of 1930's black culture, blues music and a vampire movie. In general, I am not a fan of horror movies. I hope that it doesn't win best picture.

To Windsor and Back

With Julie Tomasin passing away on Tuesday, Wallen, Snipes and Joy headed to Windsor on Wednesday. Leaving from the UC Davis Medical Center, I drove Thursday morning to catch up with them and Tomasin.

I met them at the Fred Young Funeral Home in Cloverdale for the viewing.

Afterwards, we stopped at the Saw Mill Saloon.

From there, we visited the Olive Hill Cemetary.

The five of us had lunch at the Dry Creek Store.

Heading back to Windsor, Wallen, Tomasin and I shopped for groceries for dinner.

We watched the Los Angeles Rams versus Seattle Seahawks NFL game. Making Wallen happy, the Seahawks prevailed by the score of 38 to 37 in overtime.

Wallen made a great dinner of barbecued flank steak, mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables.

With an early appointment on Friday morning, I rolled back to Carmichael after dinner. I was home just before 10 pm.

Julie Tomasin

Julie's Obituary

Pebble Beach at Waymaker Brewing

Larkin, Gainsley and I spent the afternoon playing Pebble Beach Golf Links on the simulator at Waymaker Brewing. Although I had an uneven round, I birdied the short par three seven hole. Even a blind pig finds an acorn once in a while...

By mistake, I set the maximum score on a hole to double bogey rather than double par plus auto drop on the out of bounds. As a result, the scorecord is pretty wonky. Overall, I feel like I am making more consistent contact. Although I felt like I was starting to get the putting figured out when I have been there before, I struggled with the putting.

Amazing Race - Season 38

Last Thursday night, Sharon and I finished watching season 38 of the Amazing Race. With a passion for traveling, I have enjoyed watching the Amazing Race over the last few years. We finished season 32 in January of 2021, season 33 in March of 2022, season 34 in December of 2022, season 35 in December of 2023, season 36 in March of 2024 and season 37 in May of 2025.

Season 38 premiered on CBS on September 25, 2025. It concluded on December 10, 2025.

This season featured a unique twist: all the contestants are former houseguests from Big Brother, paired with a friend or relative. New elements introduced this season include a U-Turn penalty vote for a non-eliminated team. Elements of the show that returned for this season include the pre-starting line task, the international starting line, gifting a second Express Pass to another team, and the Hazard.

The legs of the race included:

• Leg 1 (Netherlands)
• Leg 2 (Netherlands → Czech Republic) [Prague]
• Leg 3 (Czech Republic)
• Leg 4 (Czech Republic → Hungary) [Budapest]
• Leg 5 (Hungary → Croatia) [Dubrovnik - Buža Bar!]
• Leg 6 (Croatia)
• Leg 7 (Croatia → Romania) [Bucharest]
• Leg 8 (Romania)
• Leg 9 (Romania → Greece)
• Leg 10 (Greece → Italy)
• Leg 11 (Italy → France) [Paris]
• Leg 12 (France → United States)

Brothers and entrepreneurs Jas and Jag Bains were the winners of this season. We were rooting for them most of the second half of the race; they deserved to win. Dating couple Kyland Young and Taylor Hale finished in second place, and brothers Joseph and Adam Abdin (who we were actively rooting against) finished in third place.

My enjoyment of the season was a little marred by the fact that I didn't like most of the teams... I particularly enjoyed the episodes filmed in Dubrovnik. We spent six nights there in 2024.

Taking advantage of some holiday discounts offered by Viking, Sharon and I have booked the Viking river cruise Passage to Eastern Europe with a pre-trip to Prague. The trip includes Prague, Budapest and Bucharest! Additionally, we are planning to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary in Paris in October!

2025 Year in Review