Monday, December 29, 2025

Julie Tomasin Obituary

IN LOVING MEMORY OF
Juliann Babette Tomasin (Julie)

more pictures

BORN: MAY 18, 1955
DEPARTED: DECEMBER 16, 2025
Julie was the heart and light of our family. She is survived by her beloved husband, Dr. John Tomasin, her partner in life, laughter, and adventure for 44 years, married for over 41 years. Their love story began with rugby. Julie first coming to watch the UC Davis Rugby team that John played for, even though she attended, and later graduated from Sacramento State, a detail she always wore with good humor Together, they built a beautiful family and shared countless adventures together. Wherever Julie was, joy and curiosity followed.

She leaves behind her greatest pride and joy, her three sons: David (Losalini), Christopher (Cassie & Baby Harrison), and Mikey (Mota). Her boys were her world, and her love for them was fierce, unwavering, and endless.

Julie is also survived by her four younger siblings, Francine (Jon), Carol (Arlis), Danny (Dina), and Richard (Anne), with whom she shared a lifetime of love, laughter, and deep family bonds.

Though small in stature, Julie's presence was powerful. She had a sharp wit, perfectly timed comebacks, and a sense of humor that could light up any room. She gave selflessly of her time, heart, and resources, leaving a lasting imprint on everyone she met.

Her dedication to the Santa Rosa Rugby community lives on through the establishment of For Pete's Sake Rugby Field and the ever-growing Santa Rosa Youth Rugby; a legacy built on love, service, and generosity. She was also a proud and steadfast supporter of the Healdsburg Italian Catholic Federation.

Julie loved deeply, laughed often, served selflessly, and lived fully. She will forever be loved and held close in our hearts.

Sunday, December 28, 2025

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

Saturday, December 27, 2025

Gift exchange and lunch with my sisters

Tooltip with Text and Image 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 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.

Friday, December 26, 2025

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.

Thursday, December 25, 2025

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.

Wednesday, December 24, 2025

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.

Sunday, December 21, 2025

Christmas Cookies

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

Saturday, December 20, 2025

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.

Friday, December 19, 2025

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.

Thursday, December 18, 2025

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.

Tuesday, December 16, 2025

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.

Monday, December 15, 2025

Amazing Race - Season 38

Tooltip with Text and Image 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!] [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!

Saturday, December 13, 2025

2025 San Francisco - Day #6

Sleeping late, Sharon and I eventually got organized and walked to Sisterita in the financial district for breakfast. Sharon had eaten there before when she was in the city with Laura. I had a Country Style Omelet [Chicken sausage, spinach, red onions, tomato, fresh herbs, habanero jack cheese], while Sharon had Forestiere Omelet [Cremini mushrooms, black olive, garlic, basil, herbs, goat cheese, arugula].

Walking back to the hotel, we checked out and made a quick stop at Jack's apartment to pick up his golf clubs. Heading home, we stopped in Orinda to vist with Drew and Carmen. We had a very nice visit. I am impressed on the progress that he had made building out his studio in the old woodshop.

We stopped in Dixon, got gas and switched drivers. It was after 2:30 pm when we got home.

We had a very nice visit with Jack.

Friday, December 12, 2025

2025 San Francisco - Day #5

Rolling from Carmichael about 1 pm, we headed to San Francisco. With a driver change at the Hunter Hill Rest Area, we were in the city by 3:20 pm. We are spending one night at the Stanford Court Hotel. The room was ready when we got there.

Jack met us in the bar about 4:30 pm. From there, we took a Waymo to Golden Gate Park. Sharon got tickets for Lightscape 2025. It is a mile-long trail of light and color thourgh the Botanical Garden.

After walking the trail, we caught an Uber to AltoVino for dinner. For starters, we split Bagna Caôda ["warm bath" of olive oil, anchovies & butter served with raw & poached farmer's market vegetables] and Crostini [mortadella mousse, house-cured Stemple Creek lardo, toasted pistachio, balsamic reduction]. For entrees, Jack and Sharon had Pappardelle [10 hour bolognese - Rossotti Ranch veal, Schmitz Ranch dry aged beef, guanciale, Stemple Creek Ranch pork, sofrito, baby spinach, parmigiano-reggiano], while I had Tagliatelle. Jack and I each had a scoop of chocolate gelato for dessert.

It was a long lazy meal. By the time we walked back to the hotel and crashed, it was after 11 pm.

Clem's 2nd Birthday

Thursday, December 11, 2025

W.A.A. Sports - Joyce Abbott at UC Davis

Like my dad playing baseball in college, I was surprised to learn that my mother played tennis. I don't remember her ever talking about playing tennis in college.

California Aggie, Volume 52, Number 28, 6 May 1954
W.A.A Sports

   Wednesday, April 21, the girl’s tennis team had a meet with Sacramento J. C. in Sacramento. Nancy Hughes and Carol Freitas lost their game, 6-0 and 7-5, but Sally Kenyon and Vi Kessell, the second doubles team, won theirs 6-1 and 6-5. Joyce Abbott won the second game 6-0 and 5-4.
   Softball practice is every Monday and Wednesday at 4:30. Any girls interested come on out. We are getting ready for a game on May 12 with Sacramento here at 4:30. The big event of the season will be the Playday at Modesto May 15.

Dick Heringer and Joyce Abbott at UC Davis


Footnote: The Women's Athletic Association (W.A.A.) was the primary organization responsible for governing and promoting women's sports. It served this role for a quarter-century, specifically before the implementation of Title IX of the Education Amendments in 1972, which revolutionized collegiate women's athletics.

Wednesday, December 10, 2025

Sentimental Value

Wednesday afternoon, Sharon and I saw Sentimental Value at the Cinemark Century Greenback Lane. 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 Sentimental Value with the fifth best odds to win the Best Picture Oscar.

Sentimental Value (Norwegian: Affeksjonsverdi) is a comedy-drama film directed by Joachim Trier. He co-wrote it with Eskil Vogt. It stars Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård [Dune, Dune: Part Two, Good Will Hunting], Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, and Elle Fanning.

The movie follows Nora (Reinsve), an actress, and her sister Agnes (Lilleaas), as they reunite with their estranged father, Gustav (Skarsgård), a renowned but aging film director, at their ancestral family home in Oslo. Gustav, hoping for a career comeback and reconciliation, attempts to cast Nora in his highly personal new film about their family's traumatic past.

The movie Sentimental Value received a total of eight Golden Globe nominations. The nominations included: Best Motion Picture – Drama; Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language; Best Director – Motion Picture (Joachim Trier); Best Screenplay – Motion Picture (Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier); Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama (Renate Reinsve); Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture (Elle Fanning); Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas), and; Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture (Stellan SkarsgÃ¥rd).

In a reverse of Hamnet, I liked the movie more than Sharon did. She thought that it was slow in spots... All of the acting performances are very good. Nevertheless, I am not fond of subtitles. Almost 75% of the movies is subtitled Swedish and Norwegian. Reading the subtitles, I feel like I miss some of the action. I believe that the movie will get nominated for a best picture oscar and will get several acting nominations. While we haven't seen Sinners yet, I still think that One Battle After Another is the favorite for the Best Picture Oscar.

Tuesday, December 09, 2025

mailing the Christmas Cards

Twenty-seven of the last twenty-eight years, Sharon and I have sent out a Christmas Card. Dissatisfied with the quality of the photos on commercial cards like Shutterfly, I built my own format and process. Unfortunately, this was a lot of work... Additionally, the number of cards that we send out has exploded in the last twenty years with the inclusion of people from SEAS, Outlaws, Jesuit High, Sutter Health, Adventist Health and Deterding Ranch.

Five years ago, I decided to go back to a commercially printed greeting card. After moving my database from Outlook into iOS contacts, I printed mailing lablels for the first time three years ago. Everything has gone a lot quicker!

I mailed 148 Christmas cards on Monday, December 8.

In 2024, I mailed 143 Christmas cards on December 3. I mailed three more on Friday, December 6.

In 2023, I mailed 136 Christmas Cards On Saturday, December 2. I dropped three more in the mail the next day.

In 2022, I mailed 127 Christmas Cards on Thursday, December 15. I dropped two more in the mail on Friday, December 16.

In 2021, I mailed 121 Christmas Cards on Wednesday, December 8.

In 2020, I dropped 119 Christmas Cards at the post office on Sunday night, December 6.

In 2019, I dropped 73 Christmas Cards at the post office on Tuesday night, December 17 and 33 more on Wednesday morning, December 18.

In 2018, I dropped 104 cards at the post office on Monday, December 17.

In 2017, I mailed about 70 cards on Sunday afternoon, December 17 and another 30 plus cards on Monday morning, December 18.

Monday, December 08, 2025

2025 Jesuit High School Lessons & Carols

The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is a service of Christian worship celebrating the birth of Jesus that is traditionally followed at Christmas. The story of the fall of humanity, the promise of the Messiah, and the birth of Jesus is told in nine short Bible readings from Genesis, the prophetic books and the Gospels, interspersed with the singing of Christmas carols, hymns and choir music.
Sharon and I went to Lessons & Carols, an evening of prayer and song presented by the Jesuit High School Chamber Singers, the Concert Choir of St. Francis High School and Jesuit Drama at the Chapel of the North American Martyrs. This is the sixteenth year that Jesuit High School has held the service.

After missing three years, we attended in 2023 and 2024. Prior to that, we attended in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. Sharon's brother Tom went with us in 2018 and 2019. Sharon went by herself in 2015 while I was working in the Napa Valley.

Sunday, December 07, 2025

At Ancil Hoffman Golf Course


Taking advantage of the street closures blocking access to the course due to the California International Marathon, Sharon and I played nine holes at Ancil Hoffman Gof Course. Teeing off at 9:40 am, we played as a twosome.

I was happy with how I played. Although we haven't been playing as much over the last three months, I have been striking the ball more consistently over my last couple of rounds. I only three putted one green, but my chipping is still a problem. I parred the par three ninth hole coming into the clubhouse. In spite of all the leaves, I didn't lose a ball!

I carded a very honest 52. Sharon ended up wth the same score, but used a number of mulligans off the tee. I used one gallery loss on the eighth, but it turned out my ball was in the middle of the fairway about 20 yards ahead of where we were looking...

We had a very nice relaxed Sunday morning. I really enjoyed having a chance to play as a twosome.

Saturday, December 06, 2025

Holiday Get-together

Tooltip with Text and Image With the house decorated for Christmas, we invited the Gainsleys Gainsleys and Larkins Larkins over for a cocktail. The Larkins bought some smoked salmon and crackers.

Afterwards, the six of us went to dinner at Fabians Italian Bistro. Sharon and I split a bland caesar salad. For entrees, I had FETTUCCINE BOLOGNESE [ ANGUS BEEF & PORK RAGÚ, PECORINO ROMANO, FRESH BASIL], while Sharon had HALIBUT PUTTANESCA [CAPERS, OLIVES, ANCHOVIES, TOMATOES, CALABRIAN CHILI, GARLIC BREAD].

It was a very nice evening. Sharon and I are regretting that we don't have a trip booked for 2026...

Friday, December 05, 2025

Sacred Heart Holiday Home Tour

Sharon and her brother Tom spent the afternoon at the Sacred Heart Holiday Home Tour. This is the fifth year that they have done the tour [2024, 2023].

They had a late lunch at Revolution Winery & Kitchen.