Month: December 2021

“We’re engaged, did you guys all know about this?”

Jose and his crew were coming to replace the kitchen floor last Monday, so we decided to exchange our Christmas stockings on Sunday night.  I love these three little penguins nesting in my stocking.

There were a couple of gifts that I couldn’t resist for Diana, but which didn’t fit in her extra large stocking.  She had mentioned enjoying spirograph a few months ago, and I was trying to describe the fancy set I had.  She’s pretty excited to try out this classic set when we get back to McKinney.  I’m not sure if that will be before or after she tackles the “Where the Crawdads Sing” jigsaw puzzle.

I saw the “Champagne Clutch” from Neiman Marcus and knew that McD needed one of those also.  Enough room for a bottle of champagne, a credit card and an ID.

My favourite gift is this Pooh cushion.  The other side has the “We’ll be friends for ever, right Pooh?  Even longer,” classic quote.

We think we may stick with the stocking stuffer only Christmas gift tradition.

Spending the night at the Grand Hotel in downtown McKinney seemed like a better plan than getting in the way of Jose and the flooring crew.  The Grand is such a lovely, old school hotel with a great location on the square.  We had dinner at the Urban Bar and Grill – a new restaurant where Bayou Jack’s used to be (I loved that New Orleans style place.)  Our meals were great – particularly Diana’s mussels.

We took advantage of some of the photo opportunities on our walk back from dinner.  Diana always says we rarely get pictures of the two of us at busy times like this – so here you go D:

I saw storms and flight disruptions forecast for San Francisco on Wednesday, and so changed our flights to Tuesday.  That way I could be sure to be ready to go to celebrate Will and Christine’s engagement.  You hadn’t heard about that?  Oh my goodness, what a production.

But before that, we celebrated McD’s birthday again with Adamo, Amy and crew.  A creative cake indeed.  It wouldn’t be a complete visit if Diana didn’t have kids hanging off her.

Now back to the engagement event – eleven of us were staged in a limo bus just down the street from the site of the proposal – in a “taxi” outside Christine’s house, where they first met.  We were provided with a detailed set of instructions, including a dress code.  As we exited the bus to offer congratulations, Christine said, “Did you guys all know about this?  Oh, of course you did.”  Pictures were taken in front of the old apartment, and then we all rode in the bus to the restaurant where Will and Christine were going to have a special celebration dinner.

It turned out the place Will had chosen for dinner was right next to the Tadich Grill, a favourite of mine when I would occasionally work in downtown San Francisco.  This is the oldest restaurant in California, dating back to 1849.  We decided to have dinner there rather than riding back in the bus and catching an Uber from the drop off point.  This was a great decision – wonderful oysters Rockefeller, petrale sole and cioppino.

After dinner Diana wanted to check on the newly engaged couple.  She asked the maitre d’ to take us to the couple with the white jackets.

We had our gift exchange with Will, Christine, Campbell and Ollie in Redwood City on Thursday night.  That was followed by a delicious meal (outside so that Ollie could attend) at Terun.

The visit gave the girls a chance to admire Christine’s rock again.

I think I was a pretty good helper for Diana as we assembled Christmas dinner from the remainder of the seven fishes dinner from the previous evening.  Marco and Giancarlo’s families joined us and we had a very nice time.

We certainly got plenty of celebrating and time with family in this week.

I did find enough time to finish up “I Dream He Talks to Me” by Allison Moorer.  This is about her experiences raising a non-verbal autistic son, John Henry.  The book certainly brings perspective to the challenges of raising our kids.

“I suspect he hears music all around him because he stops what he’s doing and he listens.  My son has taught me countless lessons, but the biggest one may be that there is music in everything.  I don’t know what role it will ultimately play in his life, whether he will pursue it professionally or if he will just enjoy it.  I only know that music might very well be his language in some way.  What he cannot say, he might one day sing too.”

A beautifully written book about treasuring all the small moments in life.

I love this song by The Delines, a band from Portland who describe themselves as retro-country:

And here’s one from the Scottish band The Blue Nile.  Their music is always so well produced:

Stay safe (it’s getting crazy out there again) and kind.

 

 

 

 

“Happy Birthday McD, Happy Christmas Finneroo”

We drove down to Austin last Tuesday afternoon, arriving in time to meet Brad and Jocelyn for a lovely dinner at Eberly.  We drove by this iconic Austin restaurant many times and had never tried it.  We were missing out.  It was great to catch up with friends.

My work Executive Committee had a holiday meal at Garrison in the Fairmont hotel on Wednesday evening.  This was another amazing meal – the octopus appetizer, and then the ridiculously decadent duck and foie gras tower, topped with black truffles (one of the best dishes that I remember from this year.)  It’s so nice to work with a group of folks whose company I enjoy so much.

Our corporate center Holiday Happy Hour was on Thursday night at the Fairmont hotel.  We had reserved a combination indoor/outdoor space and the weather was perfect for enjoying both.  Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time.  Here’s the motley IT crew (the official picture will be much better), and Diana with our friend Neffie.

I think Diana looks wonderfully sparkly and festive.

On Friday, we had lunch at June’s – steak tartare and bone marrow bolognaise, and then endured the very long drive back home to McKinney.  This week was a great start to the holiday season.

On Wednesday, we had our Christmas gift exchange with Finn.  We ordered in Thai food and then had Finn open his stocking and gifts.  He was really spoiled and very appreciative.  He also did a lovely job with his card and gifts – very creative and thoughtful.  I love my whisky glass with Emperor penguin etching and Diana is quite proud of her hand-blown glass mermaid.

The Atlas came back from getting wheels “powder coated” on Thursday.  Diana is quite happy with the way the all black rims now look.

 

 

 

 

I got a haircut on Friday and decided to have a snack at the neighboring Lion and Crown afterwards.  Scotch Eggs!  This place had all the classic pub food favourites and I’ll have to plan another stop in.

 

 

 

Diana added another year to her age on Saturday.  We had dinner at the Capital Grille – we hadn’t been there in a while and were not disappointed.  Such a classic steak house with excellent service.  McD had the full experience – filet mignon Oscar style (crab, béarnaise, and asparagus) with a lobster tail on the side.  Not to mention the sides of lobster mac ‘n cheese and mushrooms.  We have lots of leftovers for dinner tonight.   The hostess sprinkling sparkly confetti shapes on the table as we were seated to celebrate the Birthday was a fun touch.

Today we’re planning to pick up Finn from work for a sushi lunch, and then enjoy the Cowboys/Giants game.

I finished three books over the last fortnight.  First was completing “Crossroads” by Jonathan Franzen.  This book felt quite long at 575 pages, and a bit plodding in places.  And then, to add insult to injury, Franzen used quite a twee technique to finish things up.  The conclusion to the story was told in a couple of letters sent between the key characters.  It almost felt as if Franzen realized the book was already too long and didn’t feel like editing things down and providing a satisfying conclusion.  I would still recommend this book for a good holiday read – it’s the kind of book you can settle into for several hours and just enjoy the characters.

My next book, “Mayflies” by Andrew O’Hagan, is a Christmas present from Mum that I couldn’t resist sampling, and then couldn’t resist finishing.  It’s in two parts – a group of mates from the Glasgow area attending a music festival in Manchester in 1986 as teenagers, is part one, and part two is the same group in their 50s in recent years.  Part one got a bit repetitive after a while – kids being silly at a music festival, but part two was excellent.

Page one sets the backdrop for part one:

“Nineteen eighty-four was the end of old Woodbine, or 1985, when the strike ended and the Ayrshire men returned one by one to the pits, met at the gates by women giving out carnations.  The miners had fought hard, but they were all sacked within a month.  ‘He takes his shame out on us,’ Tully said.  ‘I suppose Thatcher never really got it about the enemy within.’  And that comment was pure Tully.”

On the life-changing impact of a great school teacher:

“After the results came in, I went to school for the last time.  She was sitting with a huge pile of jotters. ‘Ah, James,’ she said.  ‘I gather you got a place.’

‘Strathclyde.’  She jumped up from her desk and hugged me right next to the blackboard. ‘Susan,’ I said.

‘Mrs. O Connor to you.’  She was smiling,  I didn’t know what to say.  It can take a whole lifetime to know how to thank a person.”

The mates are constantly arguing about top 3 lists:

” ‘Top three goals ever scored by a Scottish player,’ Tibbs said.

In unison: ‘Archie Gemmill.’

‘Too obvious,’ he said.

‘Have there been three goals?’ I asked.”

How a Kenny Dalglish header inadvertently led to the rise of Thatcherism:

” ‘In 1978,’ he said, ‘Ally McLeod whipped the whole nation into a patriotic frenzy so he did, which ended in ignominy and humiliation.  The aftermath of the Argentina campaign is widely accepted to be the main reason the Scottish devolution bill failed in the referendum of March 1979.  That led to the Scottish Nationalists withdrawing support for he minority Labor government and the subsequent vote of ‘no-confidence’ led to the election won by Margaret Thatcher.’

He was a juggernaut of reason.

‘Open and shut case,’  Tully said.  ‘Goal makes Dole.'”

Some local colour, Elspeth’s wedding reception was in Seamill:

“Seamill – on the north Ayrshire coast.  I see my father pointing to the Isle of Arran from a tartan blanket on the beach.  He held my finger up when the sun was blinding and traced the shape of Beinn Tarsuinn and Goatfell.  Forty years on, a caravan stood empty on a ridge above the beach, so I took it over and fixed it up, filling it with cushions and Chinese lanterns.”

Revealing the title’s meaning:

“‘A beautiful publication,’ he said.  ‘Swammerdam believed that no being was higher than any other being, a revolutionary thought at the time.  He wrote this book one summer in Sloten, outside of Amsterdam.  He filled it with poetry and visions as well as anatomical observations.’

‘It’s really wonderful,’ I said.  ‘Mayflies.’ “

What an enjoyable read!

My third book was “Lucky” by Marissa Stapley.  This is a quick and fun read that I finished in two sittings this weekend.  I think Diana will figure out the puzzle quicker than I did.

A grifter/con-artist wins a $390 million lottery, but can’t claim the ticket because she’s wanted by the police at a federal level.  The book alternates between time slices each chapter, piecing the back story and the lottery plot together piece by piece.

As is typical, the ending was a bit far-fetched, but enjoyable nonetheless.  Recommended for a rainy or cold weekend.

I went on a deep dive around Tim Buckley’s “Song to the Siren” this week.  Many versions exist and all are quite different.  I’m partial to the “This Mortal Coil” version.  What do you think?

That’s enough of that one, but there are many more interesting versions to explore.

I loved this Lyle Lovett song that popped up on a playlist – excellent musicianship and production:

This one from Mary Chapin Carpenter (one of McD’s favourites) has been on heavy rotation recently.  Great guitar work:

I’ll leave you with this excellent instrumental from one of the great guitarists, Brian Setzer:

Stay safe, kind and patient with everyone!