Celebrating Sharon's Birthday

After a hectic eight days at Sea Ranch and in San Francisco, Sharon and I ended the day celebrating her birthday.

She asked me to make Juicy Lucy Burgers with special sauce for dinner. These are the same burgers that we made for Jack's birthday last year. I got eclair's from Whole Foods for dessert.

For presents, I got Sharon several practical gifts, including a external iPhone battery and an adaptor for our trip to Japan and a couple dozen golf balls.

We finished the night watching a couple of episodes of season three of Hacks.

Celebrating Sharon's Birthday

We started the day with a hike exploring the old Sunset Whitney Golf course and the Johnson Springview Park. We hiked the Sunset Whitney Recreation Area last January. In total, we covered 4.1 miles in just over an hour and a half.



We finished the day with dinner at Mulvaney's B&L. We split Winter Beets with Hummus [Radicchio Rosa & Spinach ~ Cumin ~ Hazelnuts]. For small plates, I had B&L Ramen in Miso Broth with Homemade Alkaline Noodles [Pasture 42 Soft Boiled Egg ~ Turmeric Pickles ~ Soy Braised Spring Onion], while Sharon had Dungeness Crab Linguine [Bell Pepper Confetti ~ Meyer Lemon ~ Tomato Sofrito]. We split a large plate of Bledsoe Farms Double Cut Pork Chop with Polenta [Tuscan Salsa Verde ~ Full Belly Farms Broccolini].

For presents, I got Sharon a Bluevua Reverse Osmosis System Countertop Water Filter. She had used one at Drew and Carmen's house when we housesat in November. I also got her a pair of 10 pound dumbbells.

The day ended on an odd note.

Celebrating Sharon's Birthday!

Monday afternoon, Sharon and Jack played the front nine at Ancil Hoffman. When I asked her how it was, she said "abysmal, but fun.". She and I haven't played since the middle of November with the Gainsleys.

Monday evening, Sharon, Jack, Sharon's brother Tom and I headed to Allora to celebrate her birthday. We celebrated my birthday at Allora last January and Morgan's birthday there in May.

Jack and I split an order of OYSTERS [House hot sauce, lemon, mignonette]. I had a four course dinner including:

• BEETS + BURRATA [Candied pistachio, local citrus, pomegranate vinaigrette];
• FETTUCINE [Lobster, prawns, pancetta, preserved lemon, tomato parma rosa];
• BLACK COD [Parsnip-black truffle puree, confit potato, roasted carrots, fried kale], and;
• PANNA COTTA [Local citruss, vanilla tuille, white chocolate-buttermilk].

Everyone else had PORK CHEEKS [Prosciutto, wild + tame mushrooms, chestnuts, herb spaetzle] has the entree. There were some interesting half glass wine pairings.

We used a gift certificate that Drew had given Sharon for Christmas to pay for part of the dinner. I enjoyed the dinner and the company very much.

For presents, I got Sharon a Lagos ring, a yoga booster and a yoga blanket.

2022 Lihue - Day #3 - Celebrating Sharon's Birthday

For the second morning in a row, we did an early long walk with the Gainsleys and the Wongs. We covered about 4.5 miles.

After breakfast at the condo, we wandered over to the Marriott and got guest passes for the week. Sharon wanted to spend her birthday lounging at the pool and on the beach. This is something we never do.

The six of us [Donna, Kevin, Holly, Van, Sharon and I] spent the bulk of day at the pool. Off and on, different combinations would go for a dip in the pool.

At one point, Sharon and I wandered down to the beach and waded out into the ocean. It was a nice relaxing day. I really enjoyed visiting with everyone.

Wandering back to the condo, I watched the end of the Kansas City Chiefs verus Buffalo Bills AFC playoff game. In the last minute and fifty seconds, the teams scored 25 points, including three touchdowns, a two point conversion and a field goal. Mahomes drove the Chiefs 50 yards in the last 13 seconds for a field goal to tie the game and send it into overtime. Kansas City won in overtime by the score of 42 to 36.

Sharon had arranged for a chef to serve the group dinner at the condo. At the last minute, the chef called saying that she had food poisoning.

Scrambling to figure out what to do for dinner, we ended up going to Cafe Portfino. I had a pasta special with marlin, shrimp and mussles.

Celebrating Sharon's Birthday

We were originally planning to spend a long weekend at Sea Ranch celebrating Sharon's birthday. When the rental agency cancelled the booking, we decided to plan a hike at Cronan Ranch. We hiked there last February with Tiber. We invited the Larkins to join us.

We ended up hiking just over 6.1 miles in about three hours. A map of the hike is here. We stopped for lunch at the picnic tables near the old movie set. I brought a bottle of champagne and some cupcakes to celebrate Sharon's birthday. Jack called just as we were sitting down for lunch to wish her happy birthday. Jack gave her a celebrity birthday greeting; Sharon watched it as she was talking to him. After the hike, we visited with the Larkins in the parking lot.

I picked up curbside takeout from Allora for dinner. We spilt GNOCCHI ALLA ROMANA [pancetta, parsnips, ricotta salata, smoked carrot], a BEET + CITRUS salad [house made ricotta, grilled fennel, pomegranate vinaigrette], a WHOLE BRANZINO and Chocolate Panna Cotta [burnt orange marmalade]. I gave Sharon a large curved monitor for her birthday. We finished the night watching the penultimate episode of the final season of Downton Abbey.

Kicking off her birthday weekend

Kicking off her birthday weekend, Sharon spent the day with her brother Tom. In the morning, they walked through Arden Park across Eastern Avenue into the Mariemont neighorhood.

For lunch, they got mushroom and thai salads plus fries from Cafe Benardo. Sharon and Tom spent the afternoon hanging out.

Celebrating Sharon's Birthday

Janie took Sharon to dinner at Ruth Chris on Fair Oaks for her birthday.

Celebrating Sharon's Birthday

With Shannon spending the night on her way to Reno, Sharon, Shannon and I had dinner at Cannon East. This is currently Sharon's favorite restaurant in Sacramento. We split half a dozen oysters, a pear salad, chicken drumsticks, brussel sprouts and bintje potatoes.

We finished the celebration at home with strawberry eclairs for dessert. I got Sharon Airpods Pro and Victoria Secret pajamas for her birthday.

Celebrating Holly and Sharon's Birthday

Sharon and Holly went to dinner at Canon in East Sacramento to celebrate their birthdays.

Celebrating Sharon's Birthday

Taking the afternoon off, Sharon and Janie went for a long bike ride on their new bikes. They rode from our house to Arden Pond to Watt Avenue. Out and back, they covered 13.5 miles.

Afterwards, they picked up take out Chinese food from the Mandarin Restaurant. The three of us watched Bohemian Rhapsody on the AppleTV while we ate dinner.

We finished the dinner with a Nothing Bunt cake and presents. I got her some bike shoes for the Peloton One bike.

Celebrating Sharon's birthday

Janie took Sharon to dinner at Canon East Sacramento to celebrate her birthday. They split HEARTS OF ROMAINE [fufu persimmons, kohlrabi, black garlic ranch, puffed grains], ROASTED MUSHROOMS [brussel sprouts, cured egg, miso-chestnut dressing, sesame tuile], TOTS [mole madre, pickled onion, cotija] and WHOLE BEER CAN CHICKEN [lemon, honey, herbs]. Sharon said that two of the dishes were good, but two were only so so (the salad and the chicken). She is not sure that she is interested in going back...

After dinner, they headed to the Sawyer Hotel for a drink. They ran into Robbie Hunter in the bar. I drove Sharon to dinner and returned to pick her up. Fortunately, I got downtown just as the Professional Bull Riders Sacramento Invitational was letting out from Golden 1 Arena. People were everywhere and the traffic was a mess!

Celebrating Sharon's Birthday

Sharon took a day off and headed to Napa with her brother Tom. They had a morning tasting at Donum Estate. Sharon is excited that they are constructing a new building just to house a piece of art by the same artist that created the spider at the Guggenheim Bibao. The spider is mentioned in Dan Brown's latest book.

After the tasting, they headed to Oxbow in Napa for lunch. They had oyster po boys at Hog Island Oyster Company.

Sharon and I had burgers and salad from Whole Foods for dinner. We finished the day with an eclair and presents. I got her a red leather Apple Watch Band and a Nokia Go activity tracker.

Celebrating Sharon's Birthday!

Sharon took the day off for her birthday. She and her brother Tom went to lunch at Wildwood; Sharon said the food was better than when we had dinner there... They then went to the Century 14 to watch La La Land. Sharon and Tom finished the afternoon hitting the jacuzzi at Tom's house.

I took Sharon to dinner at Kru, contemporary Japanese cuisine. I liked the food more than she did.

We finished the night with cake and presents at Tom's house. Tom made a cake from one of their mom's recipes. In addition to Tom, the group included Eric and Erin. Presents included some new trekking poles.

Celebrating Sharon's Birthday

To kick off her birthday, I took Sharon to dinner on Thursday night at the Farm at the Carneros Inn. We had talked about snowshoeing on Saturday, but the weather didn't cooperate.

Sharon did the Mama Bootcamp in the morning. When she got home, we spent some time in the jacuzzi.

We spent the afternoon at the Mall. I gave Sharon a gift certificate to White House Black Market for her birthday.

Sharon, Jack and I finished the day going to Mass at St. Ignatius. Afterwards, we went to dinner at Cafe Vinoteca for dinner. We finished the night with cupcakes and one more present at home.

Kicking off Sharon's Birthday Weekend

With Sharon's birthday on Saturday, she met me in Napa. We went to dinner at Farm at the Carneros Inn. We had a very nice table near the fireplace. We split Bone Marrow Custard and Carnaroli Risotto as an appetizer. For main courses, Sharon had Seared Daybook Scallops and I had Superior Farm Lamb. We enjoyed the ambience of restaurant. The food was good, but not great.

Wandering back to the hotel, we finished the night watching Carol.

Celebrating Sharon's Birthday

Sharon and Janie spent the morning touring and tasting at the Kuleto Estate Winery. Working in Santa Rosa in the morning, I met them for a late lunch at Bouchon Bistro in Yountville.

We finished the day at home with pizza, presents and cupcakes. We got Sharon some colorful holders for her Withings Pulse and a wireless DirecTv receiver.

This is the first time since 2010 that we have not celebrated Sharon's birthday at Ruth Chris!

Kicking off the Celebration of Sharon's Birthday

Sharon and Janie met me in Napa. The three of us had dinner at Ad Hoc in Yountville to kick off the celebration of Sharon's birthday. We had a very nice family style dinner, including: Beet & Lentil Salad (romaine spears, watercress, beets green lentils, pickled red onions leeks, roasted shallot vinaigrette); Blowtorch Prime Rib {potato aligot, honey glazed carrots wilted spinach, horseradish jus}; Shrimp Scampi {pappardelle pasta, garlic, butter}; Cabot Clothbound Cheddar {dijon mustard, cornichons}, and; Peanut Butter Profiteroles {peanut butter ice cream, chocolate sauce}.

Celebrating Sharon's Birthday!

For the fourth year in a row, Sharon, Jack and I went to dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House to celebrate Sharon's birthday. We got Sharon flowers and a gift certificate for some new irons for her birthday… We are going to get the golf clubs before we go to Sea Ranch in February.

Celebrating Sharon's Birthday!

For the third year in a row, Sharon, Jack and I went to dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House to celebrate Sharon's birthday. We finished the night with cupcakes and presents. We got Sharon flowers, a book and an internet connected appliance for her birthday...

Celebrating Sharon's Birthday!

After Jack's basketball game on Monday night, the three of us went to Ruth Chris to celebrate Sharon's birthday. We went there for her birthday last year. Afterwards, we headed home and enjoyed a chocolate cake with fluffy white icing that I made on Sunday night. I got her some flowers, a subscription to the Wine Spectator magazine, a bottle of Sea Smoke Pinot Noir and a couple of very large coffee cups.