Zócalo

Trying to figure out how we are going to navigate the next couple of months(?) without a kitchen, Sharon and I finished the day with dinner at Zocalo University Village. We both had enchiladas. I had a mix of Mole Enchiladas, Enchiladas Guanajuato and Enchiladas Rojas.

Kitchen Remodel - Day #3

Debbie and Sharon

Debbie took Sharon to lunch at Camden Spit & Larder to celebrate Sharon's birthday. Janie, Sharon and I had dinner there in 2019 before a Kings game.

They split THE ENGLISH DIP [roast beef, soft roll, smoked cheddar rarebit, Worcestershire onions, horseradish cream, au jus, house chips] and CRISPY FISH SANDWICH [tartar sauce, pickles, lettuce, house chips].

32,839 Steps

Kitchen Remodel - Day #2

Sharon and Laura

Starting at the Nimbus Flat State Recreation Area Parking Lot, Sharon and Laura hiked five plus miles along the south side of Lake Natoma on Wednesday afternoon. Afterwards, they had appetizers at Shangri-la.

Kitchen Remodel - Day #1

Golftec

I had a Golftec lesson on Tuesday morning. I actually feel like I am making progress on my swing. At Sea Ranch and Turkey Creek, I was more consistent. I am making better contact. I still need to get my swing to be more in to out. The lesson focused on using my right hip and right knee to shift my body weight to support an in to out swing.

Kitchen Remodel - Day #0 - So It Begins...

The contractors start working on the kitchen remodel tomorrow morning. The house is in disarray...

Rain, Oceans & Rivers (Natural Water Sounds) - Spotify

Drew's Instagram Post

Nature, Rain, Oceans, Rivers - Apple Music
Sound Bath Essentials - Apple Music
Sleep Sound Bath - Peaceful Ambient Tones for Restful Nights Sleep - Spotify
Rain, Oceans & Rivers (Natural Water Sounds) - Spotify
Meditation Sound Bath - Spotify

Packing up the Kitchen and Laundry Room

Over the last year, Sharon has been planning a kitchen remodel. With Velta's help on Saturday, we spent most of Saturday and Sunday packing up the kitchen and laundry room. Having lived in the house for almost thirteen years, there is an astonishing amount of stuff in the kitchen. I need to count all of the boxes, but I think that we packed up more than fifty small and medium sized boxes. The kitchen remodel is scheduled to start on Tuesday or Wedneday.

California Historical Landmark #307

I explored this waymark on Day Ten of our California Road Trip.

Casa de la Guerra
California State Historical Landmark #307
See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
See this location on Google Maps
This landmark is located at 15 East de la Guerra Street, Santa Barbara, California. There are 16 other California State Historical Landmarks in San Barbara County. The GPS coordinates for this location are 34° 25' 12.7" N 119° 41' 56.4" W.

You can log your site to this site at waymarking.com!

A common council was duly elected near this site on August 26, 1850, two weeks before California statehood. The City of Santa Barbara held its first official meeting here in 1875, the first city hall was erected here, and the area is still center of city's governmental activities. The plaza was the scene of early Santa Barbara fiestas, and the hospitality at the de la Guerra house set standards for Santa Barbara.

Marker erected by California Centennials Commission in cooperation with Old Spanish Days in Santa Barbara, and Santa Barbara Historical Society.

Dedicated August 26, 1950.

At Turkey Creek Golf Club

Holly, Van, Sharon and I played Turkey Creek Golf Club on Friday afternoon. Sharon and I played there in 2015 with the Sanborns. We teed off at 12:10 pm. As usual with Holly and Van, I rode with Van and Sharon rode with Holly.

I was generally pretty happy with how I played. I am definitely striking the ball more consistently. Using a couple of mulligans on the tee, I ended up with a liberally scored 104. It took us just under five hours to play.

The four of us finished the day with dinner at Q1227. Sharon and I split a KALE SALAD WITH PECORINO AND WALNUTS VGGFA [kale ribbons, golden raisins, toasted walnuts, housemate bread crumbs, pecorino cheese, garlic lemon juice, evoo]. For entrees, I had CHEF Q'S JAMBALAYA [andouille sausage, chicken, shrimp, crablegs, clams, mussels, spicy tomato broth, salmon trim, saffron rice], while Sharon had WEEKEND ROASTED CHICKEN [half mary's free range chicken, herbs de provence, shallots, fresh herbs, fingerling potatoes].

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.

Sharon and Tom's 2025 San Francisco Adventure - Day #3

Sharon and her brother Tom spent a second night at the Presido Lodge.

They had breakfast at George's Donuts & Merriment.

Sharon has home in the early afternoon.

2025 Oscar Nominations

Best Picture
    ✔ Anora - winner
    ✔ The Brutalist
    ✔ A Complete Unknown
    ✔ Conclave
    ✔ Dune: Part Two
    ✔ Emilia Perez
    I'm Still Here
    ✔ Nickel Boys
    ✔ The Substance
    ✔ Wicked: Part One


Best Actress
    ✔ Cynthia Erivo - Wicked: Part One
    ✔ Karla Sofia Gascon - Emilia Perez
    ✔ Mikey Madison - Anora - winner
    ✔ Demi Moore - The Substance
    Fernanda Torres - I'm Still Here


Best Actor
    ✔ Adrien Brody - The Brutalist - winner
    ✔ Timothee Chalamet - A Complete Unknown
    ✔ Colman Domingo - Sing Sing
    ✔ Ralph Fiennes - Conclave
    ✔ Sebastian Stan - The Apprentice


Best Supporting Actress
    ✔ Monica Barbaro - A Complete Unknown
    ✔ Ariana Grande - Wicked: Part One
    ✔ Felicity Jones - The Brutalist
    ✔ Isabella Rossellini - Conclave
    ✔ Zoe Saldana - Emilia Perez - winner


Best Supporting Actor
    ✔ Yura Borisov - Anora
    ✔ Kieran Culkin - A Real Pain - winner
    ✔ Edward Norton - A Complete Unknown
    ✔ Guy Pearce - The Brutalist
    ✔ Jeremy Strong - The Apprentice


Best Director
    ✔ Sean Baker - Anora - winner
    ✔ Brady Corbet - The Brutalist
    ✔ James Mangold - A Complete Unknown
    ✔ Jacques Audiard - Emilia Perez
    ✔ Coralie Fargeat - The Substance


Best Adapted Screenplay
    ✔ A Complete Unknown
    ✔ Conclave - winner
    ✔ Emilia Perez
    ✔ Nickel Boys
    ✔ Sing Sing


Best Original Screenplay
    ✔ Anora - winner
    ✔ The Brutalist
    ✔ A Real Pain
    ✔ September 5
    ✔ The Substance


Best International Feature Film
    I'm Still Here - winner
    The Girl with the Neddle
    ✔ Emilia Perez
    The Seed of the Sacred Fig
    Flow


Previous Year's Oscar Nominations

Lunch with Snipes and Tomasin

Snipes and I drove to Vallejo and met Tomasin for lunch at the Sardine Can.

Sharon and Tom's 2025 San Francisco Adventure - Day #2

With works that exuded cool elegance and transgressive sensuality, Tamara de Lempicka (1894–1980) helped define Art Deco. Her paintings captured the glamour and vitality of postwar Paris and the cosmopolitan sheen of Hollywood celebrity. This exhibition — the first major museum retrospective of Lempicka in the United States — explores the artist’s distinctive style and unconventional life through four major chapters. The more than 100 artworks on display range from her post-Cubist work in 1920s Paris to her most famous nudes and portraits to the melancholic still lifes and interiors of her final days in the United States and Mexico. Including an in-depth look at the artist’s drawings and studies, this exhibition reveals the creative process behind her iconic paintings.

Sharon and Tom spent the night at the Presido Lodge.

After having breakfast at lodge, their focus for the day was the Tamara de Lempicka exhibition at the de Young.

They walked in Golden Gate Park after touring the exhibition and the museum.

Sharon and Tom finished the day having dinner at Dalida. Located down the block from the Presido Lodge, Sharon said that it was the best meal that she has had in some time.

We are planning to go to dinner there with Holly and Van in February.

Sharon and Tom's 2025 San Francisco Adventure - Day #1

Sharon and her brother Tom took off midday for a couple of days in San Francisco. They headed to the Lodge at the Presido. They are spending two nights there. Sharon and I stayed at the lodge in 2021.

Jack took an Uber to meet them at the Lodge. Jack got a chance to see the Lodge and the room. The three of them took advantage of the wine and cheese reception.

Jack, Tom and Sharon took an Uber to an early dinner at the Foreign Cinema. We held Jack's birthday party there in 2023.

The movie playing was Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery. For the entree, Sharon had the Grilled Heritage pork chop [butternut squash purée, crispy Brussels spouts, sage butter, frilly mustard greens].

Ubering back to the Lodge, they dropped Jack at his apartment and crashed early.

2025 Sea Ranch - Day #5

My goal for the morning was to go for a run. As I have said repeatedly, with fifty miles of trails, Sea Ranch is my favorite place in the world to run. Being able to run along the bluffs on the ocean for miles and miles is so cool.

Running north from the house, I covered 3.25 miles in 46:39. I averaged 13:37. This pace is not much different from my longer run last year. My body felt better than I expected.


Kevin and Donna went out for a walk. Sharon also went out separately.

After a quick breakfast of the left-over breakfast hash, we started to pack up the house. We pulled away from Monette about 10:25 am.

With Sharon driving, we decided to passby the cliffs. We took Timbercove Road to Seaview Road to Fort Ross Road to Myers Grade Road to Highway 1. There were two long stops for road construction on Highway 1: North of Timbercove, and; North of Jenner. Changing drivers in Bodega Bay, we drove through a Taco Bell in Petaluma. In spite of the Martin Luther King Day holiday, it was a very easy drive home. There were no slow downs at any of the normal gore points. We pulled up to the house a little after 3:00 pm.

After picking up Tiber from boarding, Sharon and I finished the night watching Ohio State beat Notre Dame in the College Football Payoffs by the score of 34 to 23.