2023 Oscar Nominations

Best Picture
    All Quiet on the Western Front
   ✔ Avatar: The Way of Water
   ✔ The Banshees of Inisherin
   ✔ Elvis
   ✔ Everything Everywhere All at Once
   ✔ The Fabelmans
   ✔ Tár
   ✔ Top Gun: Maverick
   ✔ Triangle of Sadness
   ✔ Women Talking

Best Actor
   ✔ Austin Butler, Elvis
   ✔ Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin
   ✔ Brendan Fraser, The Whale
   ✔ Paul Mescal, Aftersun
   ✔ Bill Nighy, Living

Best Actress
   ✔ Cate Blanchett, Tár
    Ana de Armas, Blonde
    Andrea Riseborough, To Leslie
   ✔ Michelle Williams, The Fabelmans
   ✔ Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Supporting Actor
   ✔ Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin
    Brian Tyree Henry, Causeway
   ✔ Judd Hirsch, The Fabelmans
   ✔ Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin
   ✔ Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Supporting Actress
    Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
   ✔ Hong Chau, The Whale
   ✔ Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin
   ✔ Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All at Once
   ✔ Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
   ✔ The Banshees of Inisherin
   ✔ Everything Everywhere All at Once
   ✔ The Fabelmans
   ✔ Tár
   ✔ Triangle of Sadness

Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium
    All Quiet on the Western Front
   ✔ Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
   ✔ Living
   ✔ Top Gun: Maverick
   ✔ Women Talking

More Oscar Nominations

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.

Jack is back!

To help celebrate Sharon's birthday, Jack caught the Capitol Corridor Amtrak on Sunday morning in Berkeley. I picked him up in downtown Sacramento.

The three of us watched the San Franciso 49ers versus Dallas Cowboys NFL football game. In a rock fight, the 49ers won the game by the score of 19 to 12.

The Cowboys lost for the record seventh straight time in the divisional round and have failed to make it to the NFC title game since winning their fifth Super Bowl title following the 1995 season.

Brock Purdy, the last pick in the draft last April, improved to 7-0 as a starter for the 49ers since replacing an injured Jimmy Garoppolo early in Week 13. He went 18 for 28 for 215 yards with no turnovers against the Cowboys, joining Joe Flacco (2008) and Mark Sanchez (2009) as the only rookie QBs to win two playoff starts.

Starfield Vineyards plus dinner with neighbors

As part of celebrating Sharon's birthday weekend, we went to the Starfield Vineyards off Highway 50 above Placerville to wine taste and have lunch. The tasting included: 2020 Viogneir; 2020 Marsanne; 2019 Aglianico; 2019 The Big Canyon; and, 2019 Jacks are Wild. Sharon bought a bottle of the Viognier and the Jacks are Wild.

We moved out to a table on the lawn for lunch. Sharon had a waldorf salad, while I had a figgy piggy [grilled cheese with fig] and butternut soup.

After lunch, we wandered the property. The vineyard has a couple of miles of paved trails and several lakes. We ended up covering about a mile and a half in less than an hour.

Sharon and I finished the day having dinner at Serritella's with a group of Orange Hill Lane neighbors, including Greg and Michele, Jim and Debi and Glenn. I had spaghetti and meatballs.

Women Talking

Friday night, Sharon and I saw Women Talking at the Tower Theater. This is part of our annual odyssey to watch the potential Oscar Best Picture candidates. Goldderby.com currently has the film as one of the top ten favorites to win the Best Picture Oscar.

Women Talking is an American drama film written and directed by Sarah Polley. It is based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Miriam Toews. The book was inspired by real-life events that occurred at the Manitoba Colony in Bolivia.

It is a story of a group of women in an isolated religious colony who struggle to reconcile their faith after a series of sexual assaults.

The film stars Rooney Mara [Carol, Her, Loin, Nightmare Alley], Claire Foy [The Crown - Season one], Jessie Buckley [The Lost Daugther], Judith Ivey, Ben Whishaw [Q in No Time to Die], and Frances McDormand, who is also a producer on the film.

Knowing that the film is based on a true story makes it difficult to watch. The performances by Foy, Buckley and Mara are solid, but I am not sure that I recommend that anyone goes out of their way to find the movie. It will be interesting to see if the movie is actually nominated for an Oscar. In the last couple months, the Goldderby odds of Mara, Foy, Buckley and Whishaw getting acting Oscar nominations has fallen dramatically.

The Crown - Season Five

Last Saturday night, Sharon and I finished watching season five of The Crown on Netflix. We finished watching season one in April of 2018, season two in May of 2018, season three in February of 2020 and season four in December of 2020.

The fifth season spans the period from 1991 to 1997. The season focuses on the failing relationship between Charles and Diana with detours to explore the origin story of Mohamed Al-Fayed, the execution of the Romanovs and Margaret's past relationship with Townsend.

Season five marks The Crown's final wholesale recasting. It follows the ensembles led by Claire Foy (seasons one and two) and Olivia Colman (seasons three and four). The new cast includes:

• Imelda Staunton stars as Queen Elizabeth;
• Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Elizabeth's husband [Two Popes, The Wife] ;
• Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, Elizabeth's younger sister;
• Jonny Lee Miller as John Major, Prime Minister 1990–1997;
• Dominic West as Charles, Prince of Wales, Elizabeth and Philip's eldest child and the heir apparent, and;
• Elizabeth Debicki as Diana, Princess of Wales, Charles's wife [Tenet].

While I enjoyed the season, it falls very short of season four; I think that season four was the best season so far. Season five is A LOT of Charles and Diana. With Elizabeth and Philip's deathes and Harry and Megan's subplot in the past couple of years, it will be interesting to see how they wrap up the last season.

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande

On Friday, January 6, Sharon and I watched Good Luck to You, Leo Grande on Hulu. I had seen Emma Thompson talking about the film on The Late Show with Steven Colbert.

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande is a 2022 sex comedy-drama film directed by Sophie Hyde and written by Katy Brand. The film stars Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack. Retired widow Nancy Stokes hires a good-looking young sex worker called Leo Grande, in the hope of enjoying a night of pleasure and self-discovery after an unfulfilling married life.

For her performance, Emma Thompson was nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.

When the movie was over, Sharon said "that was really good." I liked it a lot more than several of the Oscar favorites, such as The Banshees of Inisherin and Tár. Nevertheless, I don't expect the film to be nominated in any of the major Oscar categories.

Sunset Whitney Recreation Area Hike

Taking advantage of the Martin Luther King Holiday, Sharon and I hiked in the Sunset Whitney Recreation Area. We covered 5 miles in just under two hours. The recreation area was previously a golf course.

Designed by Billy Bell, the Sunset Whitney golf course opened in June 1963. The course hosted its first and only PGA Sunset Camellia Open in October 1964. National Golf Courses Corporation bought Sunset Oaks in 1966 and changed the name to Sunset Whitney Ranch. A later owner changed the name to Sunset Whitney Country Club.

The course became a public course in 2011, but closed in August 2015 due to financial troubles. The city of Rocklin bought the property in 2018.

Drew and Carmen are engaged

Celebrating My Birthday

I had hoped to spend the long holiday weekend at Sea Ranch, but that fell through. I was also hoping to disconnect from work and day-to-day household chores. Unfortunately, this didn't quite work out. Just as I rolled out of bed in the morning, I got pulled into a work Teams meeting. A scheduled network change wasn't going as planned.

Sharon and I spent the rest of day relaxing. We facetimed with Drew and Carmen in the afternoon. Drew said that he got me a new daugther-in-law for my birthday...

For dinner, I barbecued a couple of filet mignons. Sharon cooked some brussel sprouts in her air fryer. We added a couple of baked potatoes. For dessert, Sharon made german chocolate cake.

For presents, Sharon gave me some tickets to ses Bill Maher at the Hard Rock Live, some golf pants and an offer to wash my car once a month until I retire (a service).

More Christmas Photos

Avatar - Way of Water

Friday afternoon, Sharon and I saw Avatar: Way of Water at the Palladio Luxe in Folsom. This is part of our annual odyssey to watch the potential Oscar Best Picture candidates. Goldderby.com currently has the film as one of the top ten favorites to win the Best Picture Oscar.

The film is the sequel to Avatar (2009) and the second installment in the Avatar film series. Cast members Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Stephen Lang, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Giovanni Ribisi, Dileep Rao, and Matt Gerald reprise their roles from the original film. New cast members include Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, and Jemaine Clement. In the film, Na'vi Jake Sully (Worthington) and his family, under renewed human threat, seek refuge with the Metkayina clan of Pandora.

Sharon never saw the original. Jack and I saw it at the IMAX in 2009!?!

The film received nominations for Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director at the 80th Golden Globe Awards. It was named one of the ten best films of 2022 by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute.

I was surprised at how much Sharon liked the film; she gave it an "8". I enjoyed the film; it is visually amazing. I thought that some of the scenes were a little long and overwrought. Sharon wants to go back and watch the first film.

After the movie, we went to dinner at Land Ocean in Folsom. After splitting a Grilled Artichoke [Lemon-basil remoulade], Sharon had Macadamia Nut Crusted Chilean Sea Bass [Coconut jasmine rice, broccolini and soy-ginger glaze] as an entree, while I had Spice Crusted Ahi Tuna [Fresh #1 grade ahi tuna. Sautéed spinach, garlic black rice, roasted corn salsa and avocado mango purée].

2023 Sea Ranch - Day 1 NOT!

We were originally planning to leave today for four nights at Sea Ranch to celebrate my birthday. We had rented a house that we stayed at in January of 2020. The rental company called on Monday and cancelled. The power has been off at Sea Ranch for a week and they weren't sure when it will be restored.

I am very disappointed. I was looking forward to running on the trails along the bluff and doing some hiking. With an adult beverage in hand, we were going to do some planning for 2023 while watching the waves. Frankly, I was looking forward to a mental break from everything going on at work and what needs to be done around the house.

Former Guy: Doonesbury in the Time of Trumpism

My book for January is Former Guy: Doonesbury in the Time of Trumpism by Gary Trudeau. As I have said before, when I was working for the farm credit banks in Sacramento in the 1980s, I used to stop every morning and buy a San Francisco Chronicle. The Chronicle had Doonesbury, while the Sacramento Bee refused to publish it. One of my highlights every morning was reading the comic strip.

Trudeau started using Donald Trump as a character in his comic strip on September 14, 1987. Former Guy is a follow up to Yuge!: 30 Years of Doonesbury on Trump that was published before the 2016 presidential election, #SAD!: Doonesbury in the Time of Trump that was released in 2018 and Lewser! - More Doonesbury in the Time of Trump that was published in 2020.

Former Guy tracks Trump from May 31, 2020 to June 19, 2022. It is organized into four sections: Individual One; The Big Lie; Owning the Libs; and, Cancel Culture.

While I enjoyed it, this book is not as good as Yuge!

Former Guy, Lewser! and #SAD all feel thin compared to the first book.

Tár

On New Year's Eve, Tom, Sharon and I watched Tár. This is part of our annual odyssey to watch the potential Oscar Best Picture candidates. Goldderby.com currently has the film as one of the favorites to win the Best Picture Oscar.

Tár is a psychological drama film written and directed by Todd Field and starring Cate Blanchett. The supporting cast includes Nina Hoss, Noémie Merlant, Sophie Kauer, Julian Glover, Allan Corduner, and Mark Strong. The film charts the downfall of fictional composer and conductor Lydia Tár.

At the 80th Golden Globe Awards, the movie received nominations for Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Screenplay, and Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. Cate Blanchett won Best Actress.

None of us liked this movie; I don't recommend it. The plot is disjointed with an aburpt ending. Reading about the movie afterwards, I realized that I missed a couple of key plot points in the beginning of the movie. While it might get Best Picture Oscar nomination, it is difficult for me to see it winning.

Cate Blanchett's performance is interesting. I was somewhat surprised that she won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. At this point, I am rooting for Michele Williams to win the Best Actress Oscar.

2023 Kings versus Magic

Drew and Jack drove over to Sacramento from the Bay Area. Sharon and I met them at il Fornaio for dinner. I split a Caesar Salad with Sharon and had RAVIOLI LUCANA [spinach ravioli filled with italian sausage, ricotta, grana padano & fennel; topped with fresh tomatoes, spicy tomato sauce, imported peperoncino & stracciatella cheese] for an entree. Larkin wandered up during dinner and joined us at the table.

The five of us to the Sacramento Kings versus Orland Magic NBA game. It turned out that the three seats next to Larkin's season ticket are available on the secondary market [Section 126, seats 7, 8 and 9].

The Kings opened up a 20 point lead several times only to have the Magic crawl back within 10. Finally, at the end of the third quarter, the Kings ran away with the game. The Kings beat the Magic by the score of 136 to 111.

Paolo Banchero, the first overall pick in last year's draft, was the high scorer for the Magic. He had 17 points on 5 for 11 from the field, 2 for 7 from three and 5 for 8 from the free throw line.

Harrison Barnes had a season-high 30 points for the Kings. He was 11 for 13 from the field, 6 for 7 from three and 2 for 3 from the free throw line.

The Kings hit a franchise record 23 3-pointers. The team was 23 for 46 for 50% from three!

The Kings have two wins and no losses in games that I have seen in person during the 2022-2023 NBA season.

After the game, Jack and Drew crashed back at our house. I really enjoyed having a chance to see them and take them to dinner and the game.

22 1/2 hours without power

With the power out, we spent the day taking a last load of Christmas decorations to the storage shed, cleaning out the garage and taking a load to the garbage transfer station. It is the first time since we started to decorate for the fall dinner party that we have been able to park in the garage [three months!].

In the afternoon, I watched the 49er versus Cardinals game on my iPad using my iPhone as a hotspot. The 49ers won their 10th straight game by the score of 38 to 13..

With the power still, we had an early dinner at Cafe Bernado. I had a Thai Noodle salad [Thin noodles, chicken, carrots, cucumbers, scallions, spicy peanut dressing].

Just as we were starting to settle in for a second night in the dark, the power came back on about 9:30 pm. This is the second time in two years that we have had an extended power outage. With hundreds of thousands without power in Northern California due to Saturday night's storm, I recognize that our experience wasn't unique.

Taking down the Christmas decorations, Date Night and more

Over the course of the week, Sharon took down the indoor Christmas decorations. We spent Saturday morning ferrying the boxes back to the storage shed. It took six loads; two trips of both our cars plus two more trips with just the Volvo. I worked in the early afternoon taking down the outdoor decorations.

Saturday evening, Sharon and I went to dinner at Shangri-la as a date night. We split Crispy Brussel Sprouts, Deviled Eggs and BEET PANZANELLA SALAD [golden beet hummus, pickled red beets, mixed chicory greens, local burrata, pumpkin seeds, grilled sourdough]. For entrees, we shared BAJA FISH TACOS [corn tortilla, fermented beer batter, local cod, crema, cabbage, pico, side of tomatillo and tomato salsa, chips] and a VEGGIE BURGER [brown rice, shiitake, and black bean patty, edamame hummus, lettuce, tomato, pickled onion, white cheddar].

About 11 pm on Saturday night, the power went out. The wind was topping 60 mph and hammering the back of house.

The Outlier: The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter

My book for December was The Outlier: The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter by Kai Bird. My brother-in-law Tom gave me the book for Christmas in 2021. It fits into my long term project to read books about all of the presidents.

The book focuses on Carter's Presidency, but provides an overview of his early and post-presidential lives. He attended the Naval Academy and served on submarines from 1948 to 1953. After his father's death in 1953, Carter returned home and assumed control of his family's peanut-growing business. He served as a Georgia state senator from 1963 to 1967 and Georgia governor from 1971 to 1975.

Carter was President from 1976 to 1980. The Presidency was marked by the stagflation, the energy crisis, the Camp David Accords, Airline Deregulation, Iranian Revolution, Iran hostage crisis, the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, the Nicaraguan Revolution, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. the Soviet grain embargo and a 1980 Summer Olympics boycott.

The book doesn't paint a very flattering picture of Carter. He didn't want to compromise or negotiate as President, i.e. play politics. As portrayed in the book, Carter and his Georgia boys didn't want to socialize with the Georgetown elite... Although the book is critical of Carter's Presidency, it looks back on his accomplishments positively. At some point, I need to read a second book on Carter.

Three footnotes. In November of 1980, I was already working for Farm Credit. I can remember hearing that they had declared Reagan the winner of the election before I went to vote.

Straight out of college, I worked for the California Farm Bureau Federation. Sometime between November of 1979 and April of 1980, Carter had accepted an invitation to speak at a large meeting my division was holding in Fresno. When the hostage crisis occurred, Carter didn't campaign and stayed in the Rose Garden. Roslyn Carter came to the meeting and spoke instead. At one time, I had a picture of a group of us with Roslyn Carter. [Note to self], I need to figure out when this meeting was and look through my old photos to see if i have this picture.

Finally, Pamela Churchill shows up in the story. She was featured in Capote's Women and The Spendid and the Vile. At this time, she is married to W. Averell Harriman who was part of the Georgetown establishment...

Throwback Thursday - 1985

When we were at Drew's for the Christmas weekend, I saw these pictures on the piano in his studio. I am wearing a t-shirt from the Avenue of the Giants Marathon. I ran that marathon in May of 1978.

In the second and third pictures, Drew and I are in front of Macintosh 128K that I purchased in September of 1984. This was the original Macintosh and was released in January of 1984.

The Fabelmans

Wednesday night, December 28, Sharon and I watched The Fabelmans. This is part of our annual odyssey to watch the potential Oscar Best Picture candidates. Goldderby.com currently has the film as one of the favorites to win the Best Picture Oscar.

The Fabelmans is a coming-of-age drama film directed by Steven Spielberg and written and produced by Tony Kushner and Spielberg. It is a semi-autobiographical story loosely based on Spielberg's adolescence and first years as a filmmaker. The film is dedicated to the memories of Spielberg's real-life parents Leah Adler and Arnold Spielberg, who died in 2017 and 2020, respectively.

It is told through the eyes of the fictional Sammy Fabelman. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Gabriel LaBelle as Sammy, with Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, and Judd Hirsch in supporting roles.

Unlike a number of the potential Best Picture nominees that we have seen recently, both Sharon and I enjoyed this movie. It is a solid story. I was particularly fascinated because it is autobiographical. Michele Williams does a very good job as the mother. I expect that the picture and Williams performance will get Oscar nominations.

Christmas Ornament 2022

2022 marked the 28th Christmas that Sharon and I have celebrated together. I have bought Sharon an ornament for the tree every year since that first Christmas.

This year, I brought her one ornament in Santorini and another one in Athens to commemorate our trip to Greece and Turkey.

Taking down the Christmas Tree

We spent the morning taking down the Christmas tree. The tree was in pretty bad shape; it was very dry. We packed up the ornaments and dragged the tree out front. I cut the tree up and stuffed it in the green barrel. With the electric chainsaw that Sharon got me for Father's Day, it was easy work.

Sharon and I spent the early afternoon dragging boxes back from the shed. We will be takng the rest of the Christmas decorations down over the next week.

New Year's Day 2023

After a busy couple of days and a late night on New Year's Eve, we had a quiet New Year's Day. Although we talked about hiking at Bannister Park like we did last year, we decided to do an extended loop around Ancil Hoffman Park. Sharon, Tiber and I covered 3.7 miles in an hour and forty minutes.

In the middle of the day, we watched the 49ers versus Raiders NFL football game. The 49ers won in overtime by the score of 37 to 34.

We finished the day watching the movie Glass Onion on Netflix. It is a sequel to the 2020 film Knives Out.

New Year's Eve 2022

Sharon's brother Tom came over in the early afternoon. Tom, Sharon and I spent some time booking hotels for our trip to England and Scotland in May and June. We will be hiking Hadrian's Wall for ten days and then doing a loop around Scotland.

Sharon made a nice dinner of prime rib, roasted potates and creamed spinach. We had Rumeli Mantısı (Filo Roses) as a first course.

The three of us watched Tár. My review of the movie is here.

Sharon and I finished the night watching fireworks from the master balcony. By the night I walked Tiber and got to bed it was 1 am.

2023 is going to be an extraordinary year of change...

Tims and Bruns for Dinner

Friday night, we had Sharon's brother Tim and his wife Kathy and Brun and Kim over for dinner. We made Rumeli Mantısı (Filo Roses) as a first course. Sharon made a great dinner of pork roast, mashed potatoes and green beans.

Dinner with Holly and Van

We had originally played to play golf with Holly and Van at Lincoln Hills and then go to dinner. After driving out to the course, Sharon and I decided to bail; it was just too wet.

In the late afternoon, we headed to Holly and Van's house. We had a glass of wine and some hors d'oeuvres and visited for a while. From there, we headed to Hawks for dinner. Sharon had handmade tagliarini, while I had sea scallops.

Spoiler Alert - The Banshees of Inisherin

Friday night, December 23, Sharon and I watched The Banshees of Inisherin. We are starting our annual odyssey to watch the potential Oscar Best Picture candidates. Goldderby.com currently has the film as one of the favorites to win the Best Picture Oscar.

The Banshees of Inisherin is a black tragicomedy film written and directed by Martin McDonagh. The film follows lifelong friends (Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson) who find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship. Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan also star. It reunites Farrell and Gleeson who previously worked together on McDonagh's directorial debut In Bruges.

The movie was named one of the best films of 2022 by the National Board of Review. The film received a leading eight nominations at the 80th Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Director.

I have heard positive reviews about this film for months. Unfortunately, I didn't like the movie. For me, the movie was about someone with severe mental health problems, not about the relationship between the two main characters. The idea that you are going to cut off your fingers to prove a point jumps the shark. Sharon's brother Tom liked the movie and talked about it as an analogy of the Irish Civil War which is talking place in the background of movie. I couldn't see beyond someone that was crazy enough to mutilate himself. I am sure that it will get some Oscar nominations, but I would be shocked if it won Best Picture.

Christmas Photo Album

Back from Orinda

Sharon and I had a lazy breakfast at the hotel in The Park Bistro and Bar. I had OLD FASHIONED BUTTERMILK PANCAKES [seasonal berries, powdered sugar], while Sharon had MEDITERRANEAN OMELETTE [spinach, feta cheese, tomato, country potatoes].

Afterwards, we headed to Carmen and Drew's house. Morgan, Daniel and Lee were packing up to head back to Paso Robles, while Mike and Pam were off to Chico.

Our plan for the day was to take Jack to Ikea in Emeryville to get a couple of pieces of furniture for his apartment. Feeling a little flat, I didn't pay much attention to what Sharon and Jack were doing. This turned into a little bit of an adventure that will have cascading ramfications for the rest of the week.

After loading up the purchases, we headed into San Francisco. Dropping the boxes at his apartment, the three of us walked to lunch at Hummus Mediterranean Kitchen. Sharon and Jack had LAMB & BEEF GYROS [Slow cooked, thinly sliced, marinated lamb & beef], while I had a GREEK SALAD [Romaine lettuce, tomato, cucumber, red onion, bell peppers, feta, kalamata olives & house dressing]. Sharon didn't enjoy the gyro...

Although we had hotel reservations for Monday night, Sharon wanted to head home. We stopped at Drew's house and picked up our ice chest. We stopped at the hotel and picked up our luggage. With some moderate traffic on 80 through Dixon and Davis, it took an hour and fifty minutes to get home. We pulled up to the house just before 630 pm.

It was a very different Christmas weekend. I really enjoyed celebrating the holiday with Jack, Drew and Carmen, and Morgan, Daniel and Lee!

Christmas Day 2022

Although we crashed early on Christmas eve, we were moving slow on Christmas morning. Eventually, we wound our way to Carmen and Drew's house for a late breakfast.

After breakfast, we spent a lazy morning opening gifts. Lee is a great age for Christmas morning; he delivered the presents to everyone. I really enjoyed the morning with everyone. The group included: Morgan, Daniel and Lee; Drew and Carmen; Jack; Mike and Pam (Carmen's parents), and; Sharon and I.

I spent the early afternoon making Rumeli Mantısı (Filo Roses). When we were on the cruise, we took a Turkish cooking class. We made this dish in the cooking class. We then made it for the fall dinner party. It as turned out so well that it is going to be a go to recipe. We served to everyone as a late, light lunch.

While Sharon went back to the hotel with Mike and Pam, I took a nice 1.6 mile walk through the neighborhood with Drew, Carmen and Morgan. Afterwards, I ran back to the hotel to pick up Sharon.

We finished the day with a late dinner of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and green beans that Drew and Carmen got from Whole Foods. Although Drew, Carmen and Jack played board games until midnight, Sharon and I headed back to the hotel and crashed.

Christmas Eve 2022 [To Orinda]

Christmas Eve and Christmas are going to be very different this year.

Christmas Eve was a day broken into three parts. Part #1. Given our schedule for the weekend, Sharon and I exchanged gifts on Saturday morning. I got her a Frame television for a master bedroom (plus mounting), an AppleTV, an Apple Watch band, a Santorini Christmas Ornament and a Greek Christmas ornament. She got me an Oura ring. We spent the rest of the morning getting ready to take off for a couple of days.

Part #2. About 12:30 pm, we headed to Sharon's brother Tom's house. Tom hosted a Christmas Eve open house. The group included Tom, Eric and Ashley, Kevin, Leah, Lydia and Amelia, Terry and Steve, Tim and Kathy, Eileen and Will, Erin and Cromac, Larry and Robin, Jim, Mary, Sharon and I. There was an ongoing gift exchange over the course of the afternoon. I watched parts of the San Francisco 49er versus Washington Commander NFL game; the 49ers won by the score of 37 to 20.

Part #3. About 4 pm, we headed to Carmen and Drew's house in Orinda. Jack took BART after work. We rolled up to their house about 5:30 pm. Jack was about 15 minutes in front of us; Drew picked him up from the BART station.

Morgan, Daniel and Lee came up on Friday and are spending a few days with Drew and Carmen. Carmen's parents, Pam and Mike, are also spending a few days in the area.

We had a nice evening. We had visited and had dinner. After Lee went to bed, the Morgan and Drew played Christmas carols in the living room.

With Sharon feeling a little under weather, we headed to the hotel to the hotel early. We are planning to spend three nights at the Lafayette Park Hotel. We crashed very early.

Christmas Card 2022

See all of the Christmas Cards since 1997!

Sharon's Travels

Travels

Places to Travel

Sea Ranch

• Sharon and Tom's Oregon Adventure '25
• Wichita and Tulsa '23
• Sharon and Laura's Las Vegas Adventure '22
• Sharon and Tom's New York Adventure '22
• Tulsa '22
• Sharon and Janie's Chicago Adventure '18
• Sharon and Janie's Wichit@ Weekend '18
• Sharon and Janie's Caribbe@n Cruise '17
• Sharon and Janie's Europe@n Vacation '15

Spoiler Alert - White Lotus - Season Two

Sunday afternoon, Sharon and I finished watching season two of The White Lotus. We finished season one in September of 2021.

The White Lotus is an black comedy-drama anthology television series created by Mike White for HBO. It follows the guests and employees of the fictional White Lotus resort chain. The second season is set in Sicily and consists of seven episodes. Much of the filming was set at the Four Seasons San Domenico Palace in Taormina. In November 2022, the series was renewed for a third season.

The American Film Institute named White Lotus one of the ten best television programs of 2021 and 2022. The first season was the most-awarded series at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards, winning 10 awards, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, Outstanding Writing and Outstanding Directing for White, Outstanding Supporting Actress for Jennifer Coolidge, and Outstanding Supporting Actor for Murray Bartlett.

I liked season two more than season one. The scenery is spectacular. I could almost recommend season two just for the Sicilian scenery. I have added the hotel to my list of Places to Travel. Part of the hook for White Lotus is that you know that someone dies, but I didn't expect them to kill off Jennifer Coolidge's character. I was sure that she was going to show up in seaon three. I recommend season two.

Rugby Brothers

Monday evening, Chabrier organized a Zoom call that included Greene, Geselbracht, Hunter, Nooter, Rehlich and I.

Peloton Milestones

I passed a couple of Peloton milestones this morning. I have done at least one Peloton work out every week for the last three years. Additionally, I have now completed 600 rides on the Peloton bike.

mailing the Christmas Cards

Twenty-four of the last twenty-five 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 to over 100 in the last fifteen years with the inclusion of people from SEAS, Outlaws, Jesuit High, Sutter Health, Adventist Health and Deterding Ranch.

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

On Thursday, December 15, I mailed 127 Christmas Cards. I dropped two more in the mail on Friday, December 16. I will probably mail a few more this coming week

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.

Deterding Ranch Cocktail Party

Over the last ten years, there has a been some version of a Deterding Ranch Neighborhood Christmas Party [2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021]. This morphed into a progressive dinner over the last seven years. When it became clear that the progressive dinner wasn't going to happen this year, Sharon and I decided to host a cocktail party.

The group ended up totalling 21, including: Tom and Judy; Glen; Mike and Jill; John and Jan; Audrey and Victor; Heidi, Brad and Clark; Kim; John and Sara; Greg and Michele; Jim and Debi, and; Sharon and I.

The house looked great; Sharon did a fantastic job decorating the house for the holidays. It was a very nice evening!

Celebrating Clarke's Birthday

Sharon and I wandered next door to Heidi and Brad's house to celebrate Heidi's dad Clarke's 85th birthday. Jim and Debi and Greg and Michele were there. We ended up staying longer than we originally intended.

Amazing Race - Season 34

Wednesday night, Sharon and I finished watching season thirty-four 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 and season 33 in March of 2022.

Filming for season 34 began on May 25, 2022, in Munich, Germany, making it the first time the American version started outside the United States. Jordan was visited for the first time in the entire franchise. Filming concluded in Tennessee in mid-June.

This season originally planned to exclude non-elimination legs for the first time in franchise history. However, after one team received a positive COVID-19 test and was removed from the race, the last team to arrive in the leg received the final departure time as a penalty at the beginning of the next leg. The first leg featured "a game-changing element" called the Scramble, where teams were told the locations of all of the tasks that they had to complete at the start of the leg and could complete them in any order.

Dating couple Derek Xiao and Claire Rehfuss (from Big Brother 23) were the winners of this season, while long-lost twins Emily Bushnell and Molly Sinert finished in second place. I was rooting for the twins.

The legs of the race included:

• Leg 1 (Germany)
• Leg 2 (Germany → Austria)
• Leg 3 (Austria → Italy)
• Leg 4 (Italy → Jordan)
• Leg 5 (Jordan)
• Leg 6 (Jordan → France)
• Leg 7 (France)
• Leg 8 (France → Spain)
• Leg 9 (Spain → Iceland)
• Leg 10 (Iceland → United States)

I was fascinated by the two episodes in Jordan. Petra is a lot bigger than I expected. Our second big trip planned for 2023 includes Isreal, Eygpt and Jordan!

Tom for dinner

Tuesday night, Sharon and I had her brother Tom over for dinner; we had hamburgers, fries and salad. The three of us spent the evening planning our 2023 trip to England and Scotland. The tentative plan includes London, York, eight days hiking Hadrian's Wall, Glasgow, a loop up into the Scottish Highlands, St. Andrews, Stirling Castle and Edinburgh.

Wallen at the 2022 Army/Navy Game

Nooter at the 2022 Army/Navy Game

2022 Army/Navy Game - Day #4

After a late night, I slept late and was moving slow. The group had a leisurely breakfast in the M Louge. Several people left early. After staying up until 2 am with Wallen and I, Adam caught a 6 am flight back to Seattle for the Seahawks game!?! Max was on the road heading home by the time I got up.

Packing up the room and checking out, Nooter took Martin (Max's friend from Scotland), Wallen, Vic and I to the airport. Wallen got us into the American Admiral's lounge. We ended up watching the Eagles versus Giants NFL game.

I caught a 4 pm American flight from Philly to Los Angeles. I had a very comfortable premium seat on a 787.

I had a two plus hour layover at LAX. It was an odd experience. I had to take a bus to a small rundown separate terminal for the American Skywest flight. I caught a 930 pm flight from Los Angeles to Sacramento.

By the time I got home, it was 1145 pm. It was after midnight by the time I was in bed. A long day.

2022 Army/Navy Game - Day #3

The group had breakfast in the M Louge at the hotel. Max's son Michael had gotten tickets to a tailgate at a Chickie's and Pete's. Six of us jumped in an Uber XL and headed to the stadium.

Unforunately, we made a tactical error. We had the Uber take us to the stadium. It turned out that the tailgate was in a restaurant about a mile and a quarter from the stadium. After some initial confusion, we humped our way there. It was different doing a tailgate indoors. From there, we walked back to the stadium.

Army won the game by the score of 20 to 17 in the second overtime. It was the first overtime in the history of the rivalry. Frankly, it was a very boring game until the overtime.

Both offenses were stagnant. Army was 2 for 12 in passing. Navy was 1 for 4 in passing; they didn't complete a pass until the overtime. The Navy Quarterback [Xavier Arline] carried the ball 28 times. It seemed like the only the play that Navy ran was an option where the quarterback kept the ball on a dive.

It was a little bit of an adventure getting an Uber to pick us up and take us back to the hotel. We ended up having dinner at Spasso Italian Grill a couple of blocks from the hotel. We were able to get a couple of tables in the bar. I had Rigatoni Meatballs [MARINARA SAUCE, FRESH RICOTTA CHEESE].

After dinner, we settled back in the bar at the hotel. Wallen, Adam and I made it a late night. I was 2 am by the time I crawled into bed.

2022 Army/Navy Game - Day #2

Moving slowly after a late night, the group eventually had a lazy banquet breakfast at the hotel.

One of my objectives for the trip was a tour of Independence Hall. I have been to Philadephia three other times, but never had a chance to visit the site. In early November, I got ten tickets for 11:20 am. After breakfast, eight of us wandered down to the hall and took the tour. Having read a number of relevant biographies, it was cool to walk through the site. The tour guide did a nice job.

From there, Max led us to the river front. We toured the cruiser USS Olympia and then the submarine USS Becuna. I enjoyed the guided tour of the submarine a lot more than I thought I would. I stayed overnight with Jack on a submarine in 2006 when he was in the Cub Scouts and toured a submarine in Baltimore with Nooter and Wallen in 2005. Additionally, Max took Wallen and I on a tour of a Trident submarine in 1991.

We had a late lunch at the Red Owl Tavern. I had a Sourdough Grilled Cheese [apple butte, porchetta, arugula, provolone, gruyere]. Afterwards, everyone headed to the hotel to relax and nap.

We had an early dinner at Butcher and Singer. A group of us walked the mile and a quarter to the resturant. The group totaled 16, including Max's son and his wife, his daugther Tracy and her husband Nate and his nephew Zach. While almost everyone had an 18 oz. Delmonico for the entree, I had King Salmon.

Sharon and I had dinner in this general area when we picked Jack up from the Wharton sports business academy at UPenn in 2015. I remembered the area as having some nice bars and restaurants. I was hoping that we would be able to explore the area after dinner. Unfortunately, every place was packed. After trying to find a place near the restaurant and giving up, we started walking back towards the hotel. We ended up stopping for a beer at the Caribou Cafe.

By the time we got back to the hotel and to bed, it was just after midnight.

2022 Army/Navy Game - Day #1

For the third time in the last four years, I am heading to the Army/Navy football game [2O21, 2019]. We had tickets in 2020 until the game was moved to West Point in response to the COVID pandemic.

Up at 430 am, I breezed through security; I love the combination of CLEAR and TSA-Pre. I caught a 734 am American Flight from Sacramento to Dallas. We don't normally fly American, but Larkin and Snipes were supposed to be on the flight with me. Both of them had to cancel for different reasons. Boarding in group 5, I had an upgraded aisle seat on an Airbus A321. In a stroke of luck, the middle seat was empty. I read my book, chatted with work in Teams, worked on emails and sent a few text messages. I was amazed at how well the wireless worked.

On the ground a little early in Dallas, I boarded a 1:40 pm flight to Philly. In a black swan event, I booked a window seat (9c). I need to figure out how to upgrade my boarding group for the flights home. Although it was an easy flight, I got antsy due to the fact that I couldn't stand up without climbing over everyone.

On the ground in Philly just before 530 pm, I jumped in a cab. I was going to call an Uber, but the cab line was right in front of me. I was at the hotel a little after 6 pm. We are spending three nights at the Marriot Old City. With Larkin and Snipes AWOL, I am rooming with Vic.

After getting checked into the room and dropping my luggage, I caught up with the group in the lobby. This year's group includes Nooter, Wallen, Wallen's brother Jim, Wallen's neighbor Adam, Max, Max's friend Martin from Scotland, Vic and I. After a quick drink, we caught an Uber to the Chubby Cattle. Max's son and daughter and their familes joined us at the restaurant. While name suggested a steak place, Chubby Cattle is a hot pot restaurant decribed inspired by Mongolian, Tibetan, and Chinese philosophies of medicine and healing.

After dinner, a small group did a pub crawl with stops at Rotten Ralph's Pub, Buffalo Billards and Glory Beer Bar. I wandered back to the hotel and crashed just after 1:30 am!

Places to Travel

Travels

• Málaga, Spain {Amazing Race Season 34}
• Four Seasons San Domenico Palace in Taormina [“the pearl of the Mediterranean Sea”], Sicily, Italy {White Lotus Season 2}
• Origens Restaurante, Evora, Portugal - Nooter's 2022 Christmas Trip
• Sintra Marmòris Camélia, Sintra, Portugal - Nooter's 2022 Christmas Trip
• Jaipur, India {Amazing Race Season 35}
• Park Güell, Barcelona - Drew and Carmen's 2023 Honeymoon
• Herculaneum - Like the nearby city of Pompeii, Herculaneum is famous as one of the few ancient cities to be preserved nearly intact.
• Ko Samui {White Lotus Season 3}
• Fundu Lagoon on Pemba Island (highlighted by the General Manager of Green Safaris)
• Lake Malawi (mentioned by two people at the Tongabezi Lodge)
• Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper - Milan {The Devil Wears Prada 2}

Walk-in Cabins

Sharon and I explored this Sea Ranch Architectural Marker on Day 5 of our Sea Ranch trip in July.

Walk-in Cabins
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This marker is located at 278 Redwood Rise, Sea Ranch, California. The Sea Ranch Archives Committee has identified twenty-six historic sites scattered about The Sea Ranch. They have constructed trail markers with information explaining the significance of each place. They were placed as part of The Sea Ranch 50th anniversary being celebrated from Memorial Day 2014 to Memorial Day 2015. Since then, a number of architecture and landscape markers have been added. The GPS coordinates for this location are 38° 43' 15.9" N 123° 27' 17.5" W.


Oceanic Properties, Inc, constructed this group of 15 small, economically-built cabins as weekend getaways, with access by foot and parking at the base of the hill. The complex has the feeling of a summer base camp for nature exploration. Each cabin is 20 feet to a side, with a loft covered by a skylit flat roof on one corner from which two roof planes drop down like tent flaps. These repetitive house forms are varied by the particulars of their siting among the redwoods and on the steep slopes.

Architect: Obie Bowman, 1972
Award in Architecture and Engineering, 1972
Sea Ranch Design Award, 1974
First Honor Award, Homes for Better Living Awards Program, AIA/House and Home, 1975
AIA/Sunset "Western Home Awards" Citation, 1976

California Historical Landmark #1010

While we were in San Francisco in October for Brian and Sam's wedding, I did a walkabout and found three different California Historical Markers, including: #328 Long Wharf; #1010 Original Site of the Third Baptist Church, and; #1024 Juana Briones, Pioneer Settler of Yerba Buena.

Original Site of Third Baptist Church
The First African American Baptist Church West of the Rocky Mountains
California State Historical Landmark #1024
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This landmark is located at the corner of Grant Avenue and Greenwich Street, San Francisco, California. There are 48 other California State Historical Landmarks in San Francisco County. The GPS coordinates for this location are 37° 48' 08.4" N 122° 24' 28.8" W.


In August 1852, Abraham Brown, Thomas Bundy, Thomas Davenport, Willie Denton, Harry Fields, George Lewis, Fielding Spotts, and Eliza and William Davis organized the church in the Davis home. The congregation purchased the old First Baptist Church and moved it to this location in 1854. The present church is now located at 1399 McAllister Street.

2022 Christmas Tree

Saturday afternoon, Sharon and I decorated the Christmas Tree. Given my tradition of giving Sharon an ornament every year since we have been together, decorating the tree is a joyous trip down memory lane.

Gainsley's Christmas Party

Over the years, it has been hit and miss in making it to the Gainsley's Christmas Party [2021, 2018, 2017, 2010, 2001]. We made it this year!

Donna actually started working for me at Sutter Health the day after Jack was born in 1998. We worked together until she and Kevin retired in 2013.

The Larkins picked us up on their way to the party. We had a nice evening. We met Kathy and Randy. They are doing a Viking Cruise with the Gainsleys next year.

Back from Fort Bragg

At the hospital for the 7 am huddle, I spent a long day supporting the Cerner electronic medical record go-live. I had originally planned to head towards home about noon, but circumstances dictated that I stay for the end of day executive huddle.

Rolling from the hospital, it took me three hours and forty-eight minutes to get back to Carmichael without a stop. Waze routed me from 20 to 101 to 20 to 5 to 80. Although I have driven the section from Williams to Clear Lake lots of times while I was working in Napa, I don't think that I have ever driven it in the dark.

At Fort Bragg

At the hospital before 7 am, I spent a long day supporting the Cerner electronic medical record go-live.

I finished the day in the fitness room at the Holiday Inn Express with a 20 minute Peloton upper body strength workout, a 5 minute Peloton stretching workout and 36 minutes on the treadmil.