Bend

Hi,

I think it’s safe to say this cold business is not a spell, but a new ‘season’ for California.  Folks in the north are preparing for flooding if heavy rain comes.

So, the ‘Easy Monday’ song was “(They long to be) Close to You, by The Carpenters or Dionne Warwick.  Time to throw you a curve with the ‘Zany Day’ song.  “Please allow me to introduce myself, I’m a man of wealth and taste.  I’ve been around for a long, long year, stole many a man’s soul to waste… Please to meet you, hope you guess my name, but what’s puzzling you is the nature of my game.”  A notorious tune by a notorious group about a notorious character through time.  The title is not sung, but is asking us to take pity on a scoundrel.  Hmm.

Tuesday morning we got up before dawn to get ready for our trip to the north.  Our flight was delayed due in part to cancellations in other cities because of the storms.  Are you with me?  Passengers who were on cancelled flights were given seats on other flights.  We finally got off the ground and had an uneventful flight to San Jose.  From there we drove our rental car to San Leandro.  

The Cousin Lunch has become an institution  over the years.  First cousins Eunice and Trudye and dear family friend and honorary cousin Skip make up the club.  There are more cousins, but we have been close since childhood.  We always have stimulating conversations, updates on family stuff, and a healthy amount of laughter.

Along the way we stopped in Fremont for coffee and some coffee cake.  I made a point of checking to see how much the coffee would have cost in Chiang Rai and it was pretty close. Money is one of those things that I have to prepare myself for when  we come here.  The bills are all the same size, regardless of denomination.  In Thailand, each denomination is a different size and color, making it much easier, in my opinion, to keep track of what’s in your pocket.  

Today’s photo is a familiar face.  It’s been a week and we’re missing him.

In the evening we had dinner in Palo Alto with Joe, Karen Jo, and her grand-daughter.  She is almost nine and is having a ‘cooking party’ for her birthday celebration.  We will be having breakfast with Joe and then a visit to his studio to look at his latest art projects.

Time for Wacky Wednesday.

               Peace,

                         Danny

“It is better to bend

than to break.”

~Scottish Proverb