Matteos

Sharon and I finished the work week with curbside pick up from Matteos. For an appetizer, we had Heirloom Tomato Caprese [Heirloom Tomatoes, Fresh Burrata, Fresh Basil, Virgin Olive Oil and Caramelized Fig Balsamic Glaze]. For entrees, we both had Lamb Burgers [Pink Peppercorn and Cumin Seasoned Fresh Ground Leg of Lamb Burger with Feta Cheese, Chimichurri Aioli, House Made English Cucumber Pickles, Red Onion, Tomato and Arugula] served with Fries.

We got a bottle of Poe Pinot Meunier from the Van der Kamp Vineyard 2016, Sonoma Mountain. It wasn't as good as the Pinot Meunier from Bouchaine!

We finished the night watching Dances with Wolves.

Majka Pizziera + Bakery

Kicking off a four day weekend, Drew picked up dinner from Majka Pizziera. The three of us split a salad ]little gems, santa rosa plums, fresh goat cheese, toasted walnuts, balsamic vinaigrette] and two pizzas [cremini and shiitake mushrooms, green bell pepper, red onion, mozz, feta, evoo, parsley]. The wine pairing was arnot roberts 2018 chardonnay. Sharon also ordered a Arnot Robert 2019 Gamay Noir.

We finished the day watching Bo Burnham's Inside on Netflix.

Majka Pizzeria

Last Thursday night, Sharon and I had curbside takeout from Majka Pizzeria. The pizza included house made sauce with @biancodinapolitomatoes, mozzarella, parmigiano, mizuna @ladyhawkefarm in a meyer lemon citronette. We had a very nice bottle of Arnot-Roberts Gamay Noir 2019.

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More Adventures with Lee plus Zooms, Curbside and a Movie

Morgan asked us to babysit Lee for the day while she studied.

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Late in the day, we ended up doing two Zooms. With the Chabriers moving to Auburndale, Florida, they pulled together a virtual get together of Old Aggies. I popped in and out for the first twenty minutes.

In the evening, we joined a Zoom celebrating Sharon's brother Tim and nephew Eric's birthdays. I am looking forward to the day when we can have large family gatherings safely...

We finished the day with curbside takeout from Cafe Bernardo. Sharon had a Thai Noodle and Mushroom and Jartsberg salad, while I had Penne Pasta. Eating dinner, we watched One Night in Miami.

Mikuni's

Over the first month of the new year, Sharon and I have had curbside takeout every weekend. This has included Serritella's, Rey Azteca, Canon and Allora.

Sharon and I finished Saturday with curbside takeout from the Fair Oaks Mikunis. We split a Wakame Salad [Marinated seaweed salad with toasted sesame seeds], Gyoza [(potstickers) Crispy or Pan-seared pork and chicken], a Davis Roll [Crab mix, spicy tuna, seared tuna, white tuna, masago and onion], an Iron Chef Roll [Panko shrimp, white tuna, sauce, masago, onion], Spicy Dream 1 [Lightly seared raw tuna, Mikuni original dream sauces, green onions, sesame seeds], Garlic Salmon [Lightly seared raw salmon, garlic avocado sauce, green onions, sesame seeds] and Black and White [Albacore tuna toro seared with olive oil and garlic, black tobiko caviar, jalapenos, ponzu, green onions, sesame seeds].

After dinner, we watched an episode of The Flight Attendant and the first episode of the Undoing.

Taking down the Christmas decorations

Last weekend, we took down the Christmas tree. Over the course of the week, Sharon took down and packed up most of the indoor Christmas decorations. I spent the first half of Saturday taking down the outside decorations. Staging the boxes in the garage, I started to move everything back to the storage shed, but ran into a crew painting the doors on the units.

Sharon replaced the Christmas decorations with an assortment of Valentine's Day decorations. I was surprised by how many there were.

Jack and Drew took a day trip to Lake Tahoe to shoot some drone footage. When they got back, the four of us finished the day with curbside takeout from Rey Azteca.

Taking down the Christmas Tree

We spent the loin's share of the day taking down the Christmas tree. We packed up the ornaments and then threw the tree off the deck. With it raining lightly, I cut the tree up and stuffed it in the green barrel. We are going to leave most of the other Christmas decorations up until the weekend of January 9th.

A couple of notes for next year. We need to replace all of the lights on the tree. Buying a strand this year, we ended up with a couple of shades of white. Additionally, we probably need to consider buying the tree a little later. This tree was a mess by the time that we took it off; it was very dry and collapsed into the shape of a missle...

We finished the day with curbside takeout from Serritella’s Italian Ristorante & Pizzeria. I had spaghetti and meatballs, Jack had tortellini gorgonzola and Sharon had veal piccata. We finished the day watching episodes three and four of the Amazing Race Season 32.

Fabian's plus Wallens

Saturday night, Sharon and I got curbside takeout from Fabians's Italian Bistro. Sharon had eaten there with Holly in November. I had Rigatoni Bolognese [angus beef & pork ragú, emma pecorino, romano cheese, whole leaf oregano], while Sharon had Pappardelle Scampi [shrimp, gilroy garlic confit, arugula, saffron tomato broth, calabrian chili, lemon, butter]. We split an order of Fried Brussels Sprouts [harissa, preserved lemon] and a bottle of Lyric Pinot Noir.

As we were pulling away from the restaurant, the Wallens called. We had a nice extended talk about grandkids. When things return to normal, we need to visit the house they are building in Todos Santos. Additionally, I would like the four of us to visit Vancouver and then bounce over to visit Lance and Barb. I am fascinated to see the house that Lance built on top of a giant rock!

At Ancil Hoffman

Sharon and I played golf with Larkin and Gainsley at Ancil Hoffman. It was an odd day. Hitting a few balls on the range before we started, I was hitting the ball as well as I have ever hit a golf ball. The results on the course were mixed.

My chipping continues to be a trainwreck. I carded a 9 and two 10s just due to my horrible chipping around the greens. Additionally, my putting was not good; I averaged 2.55 putts per green?!?

Nevertheless, the results weren't terrible. I ended up carding a 114. I felt like away from the greens that I was striking the ball pretty well.

It was a very nice day. I always enjoy Larkin and Gainsley's company. I feel like it has been forever since we have seen the Larkins.

After golf, Sharon and I headed to Whole Foods in Roseville to pick up a Thanksgiving dinner. We finished the day getting curbside takeout fish taco dinners from Paul Martin's.

Morgan and Lee for Dinner

We finished the Bataan Death March Christmas decorating weekend with Morgan and Lee coming for dinner. We got curbside takeout from Rey Aztec. Sharon had ENCHILADAS SUIZAS [Marinated Chicken, Refried Beans, Lime-Cilantro Rice], Morgan had PLATO DE CARNITAS [Refried Beans, Lime-Cilantro Rice, Flour Tortillas], while I had 2 Item Combo [Mexican style soft taco, Grilled chicken, Red Sauce Enchilada, Grilled chicken, Refried Beans, Spanish Rice]. I added one 🍸😍👌 House Margarita.

Lee is a joy to be around. He is a happy little guy!

Allora

With the pandemic winding back up, I expect that it is going to be at least five months before we eat in a restaurant. Falling back on curbside takeout, we got dinner from Allora on Friday night. We got curbside takeout from there in September. We got the FRUTTI DI MARE dinner again. It included: 

•  FRUTTI DI MARE [TOMATO RISOTTO, ARUGULA, SCALLOP, SHRIMP, DAILY FISH];
•  GNOCCHI ALLA ROMANA [PANCETTA, PARSNIPS, RICOTTA SALATA, SMOKED CARROT];
•  MIXED GREENS [SEASONAL FRESH & PICKLED VEGETABLES, BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE], and;
• MIGLIACCIO SEMOLINA RICOTTA CHEESECAKE WITH SEASONAL FRUIT. 

We got a bottle of Leonaro Bussoletti “05035” Ciliegiolo di Narni IGT 2018 [100% Ciliegiolo. Light bodied, soft red wine with cherry and strawberry notes. Cola berry on the finish]. The food was very good, but I don't recommend the wine.

Cancelled Golf plus Matteos

Larkin, Sharon and I were planning to plan golf at Ancil Hoffman on Friday afternoon. With the continuing poor air quality, we decided to punt.

Sharon and I finished the week with curbside take out from Matteos. We both had cheese burgers with a house salad. Eating dinner, we watched episode two of season four of Downton Abbey.

Mas Taco plus First Trump Biden Presidental Debate

Sharon picked up curbside takeout from Mas Taco. We both had the Taco Tuesday special; I had lamb, while Sharon had carintas.

Eating dinner, we watched the first Trump Biden Presidental Debate. It was a shitshow. I am not sure how to process what I saw or what impact I think that the debate will have on the election.

Tom plus Allora

Obviously, it has been an odd six plus months. Sharon has a fairly large extended family in Sacramento. Over the course of a normal year, we would typically do a number of holidays and other events with her family. Although Sharon has had a few interactions with Tom, we haven't done anything with the group since last Christmas and I haven't seen Tom for months.

Friday night, I picked up curbside take-out from Allora. I met Sharon at Tom's house. The three of us had a nice dinner in the backyard and caught up.

We split a dinner for four that included: SHRIMP AND MELON GAZPACHO [ALMONDS, HEIRLOOM MELON, GINGER, PICKLED SHRIMP, RICOTTA], MIXED GREENS SEASONAL FRESH & PICKLED VEGETABLES [BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE], FRUTTI DI MARE TOMATO RISOTTO [ARUGULA, SCALLOP, SHRIMP, DAILY FISH] and MIGLIACCIO SEMOLINA RICOTTA CHEESECAKE WITH SEASONAL FRUIT. The food was very good; it may be the best curbside take-out that we have had this year.

We got two bottles of wine with the meal: Vie di Romans “Vie di Romans”, Friuli Isonzo DOC 2017 - 100% Chardonnay [Fresh yellow pair, golden apple and lemon peel, no oak, but creamy on the palate] and Leonaro Bussoletti “05035” Ciliegiolo di Narni IGT 2018 [100% Ciliegiolo. Light bodied, soft red wine with cherry and strawberry notes, Cola berry on the finish].

Rey Azteca

Continuing our weekend pandemic tradition, we got curbside takeout from Rey Azteca on Friday night. I had a two item combo with Green Sauce Enchilada with Grilled Chicken, Red Sauce Enchildda with Marinated Chikcen, Refried Beans and Spanish Rice. Sharon had Enchiladas Suizas with Marinated Chicken, while Morgan Steak Fajitas with Shrimp, Whole Pinto Beans, Lime-Cilantro Rice and Flour Tortillas.  I got a cheese quesadilla to share and one 🍸😍👌 House Margarita.

Eating dinner, we watched the last episode of season one of Downton Abby.

Dos Coyotes Border Cafe

After spending the loin's share of the day finishing up the exercise room, we continued our Saturday night pandemic traditional of getting curbside take-out.  We got food from Dos Coyotes Border Cafe.  I had a Shrimp Taco & Chicken Enchilada Plate, while Sharon had a Mahi Mahi Seafood Burrito.

We finished the day watching an episode of season one of Downton Abbey.  Afterwards, we watched the first episode of season one of The Mandalorian on Disney+.

Majka Pizzeria and Bakery

After spending the afternoon visiting with her brother, Sharon picked up a curbside takeout pizza from Majka Pizzeria and Bakery.  It was sweet corn, zucchini, mozz, feta, evoo and cilantro+lime. The pizza was very good.  We found out about the restaurant from one of our neighbors.

After a trip to home depot to pick up painting supplies, we finished the day watching Brittany Runs a Marathon.