Maaaany years ago, we got married on these cliffs - now, every chance we get, we visit "Our Cliff"
30 March 2022
29 March 2022
Auntie's Roses
A couple of weeks ago, I toured my parents' backyard (see the post).
This morning was quite different! We had a little drizzle, and "Auntie's Roses" were just coming out...
This rosebush was full grown when my Great-aunt Rachel lived here in the 1940's.
When Storage Makes Sense
Sometimes having a storage unit is a crutch. But sometimes it makes sense!
We first had a storage unit when we moved out of our California house, and started exploring Costa Rica. We sold or donated a lot, but we weren't sure where we would end up - our move might be temporary, or...
After a while, we brought a lot to Costa Rica, and my parents moved some of their excess into the emptied space.
A few years later, I got itchy feet, and started a series of contracts in Iowa - it only made sense to store the car and a few necessities in between gigs.
Well, eventually that ended, and we downsized to a small trailer, back to California. A lot of that came to New Mexico with us.
When we moved on to France, we (again) sold or donated a lot, but brought back the sentimental things to store in California 🙂.
Here we are, 5 years later - our "annual" visit was delayed due to you-know-what. My parents were getting tired of having stuff in storage, and we were ready to drastically reduce what had just been convenient to forget about. We spent a good part of the month sorting, donating, selling, and we moved into a *much* smaller unit. On one day alone, we donated 8 boxes of books, and 4 of computer parts. Other days were nearly as significant!
Hopefully we will know more about our living situation in the next few months, and our storage unit will become a fond memory 😬
26 March 2022
Spring Thanksgiving
Karl had the *Fantastic* idea of having Thanksgiving in the Spring! He organized it and cooked The Essential Turkey (s) - we pitched in 🙂
And we all ate 🤤😋
The album is here.
22 March 2022
Game Day!
Yesterday was Game Day! Rick's nephew is the strength coach for the Sacramento Kings basketball team - they played the Phoenix Suns, and we all went to cheer 🙂. It was quite an exciting game!
There must have been a mascot invitational! There were a good half-dozen!
Here's the gold that let us into the family rooms 😁
~~~
They introduced the players along with shooting flames 
It's starting!
I caught a few plays on video...
I have one, of the last basket attempt before going into overtime (honest!), but it won't load 🙄
Well, the Kings gave them a run for their money, but the Suns won.
Here's some post-game joy, Brandon and JoJo
Details:
We parked right at the stadium - got there by 2pm, and snagged one of the last unreserved spots.
We met the others shortly after, but it turned out that my purse was too big! So Cheryce walked back to the car with me to lock it up...
On our way back, a staff member recognized her, and arranged for all of us to get family passes!
Next, we showed our vaccination passes and IDs.
Then on to the security station - scan, wand, bags...
Inside, we headed to the family room, grabbed some food and drinks, and then back to our seats. JoJo collected all sorts of goodies - a pompom, basketball, headband with ears...
Aaaaand, then the game (see above 🤣)
After, there were pictures with mascots.
When we got to the car (detour, as I got a bit lost in the double parking garage!), I drove out, flashed the friends and family code, and off we went!
The NBA does take care of their staff!
19 March 2022
Old Sac
We spent the afternoon at Old Sac - it brought back a lot of memories!
 |
| On the Delta King paddlewheel |
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| Pony Express monument |
We checked out the old buildings and boardwalks, including (of course) the Firehouse restaurant and the Candy Barrel...
The threatened rain held off, and we even got a patch or two of blue! All in all, a very nice day 🙂
17 March 2022
UC Berkeley
Rick's nephew is a new professor at UC Berkeley, so we got a tour!
We started with the dinosaurs...
Then a little walk
And on to the bell tower
Then a short drive to the viewpoint near the Lawrence Hall of Science
15 March 2022
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
Well! We're part way through our trip to California - we've had a mix of transportation, including planes, trains, and automobiles (and a bus)!
The day we left Sète, we drove down to the pharmacy for our COVID tests (required the day before our flight) - happily, negative. Then we stored the car, grabbed our suitcases, and caught the bus to the train station. Originally, I had a series of trains that left just the required half hour to transfer, but the day before, I suddenly remembered that even in a good year, French trains are only 56% on time... So, we simply caught an earlier TER (local) train, and spent an extra hour waiting for the TGV (high speed train). No problem, all were on time 🙂. We got off at Charles de Gaulle airport (terminal 2), and simply followed the signs to our Ibis hotel in terminal 3 (taking a tram!).
The next morning, we left our hotel at 8, and just made our boarding time for the 10:30 flight - tram back to terminal 2, check-in, check suitcases, border control (using our US passports, mainly because of COVID paperwork differences), tram to our gate, security, and finally, boarding.
Our plane (Air France, 777), landed nearly an *hour* *early*!! So we had no real concern making our connections. We did spend longer than usual getting out of the airport - luggage problem, resolved, then agricultural inspection (took a good half hour, but all our shelf-stable goodies got through). Then signs to BART (turns out we had to buy clipper cards, then load them - a kind soul then told me where the sensor was, so we could enter 🙄, and another kind soul held the train for us). We transferred right away to another line, then stayed on all the way to Richmond. It was the end of the red line, and an easy transfer to the capitol corridor train to Davis. Once on the train, I could connect to WiFi and call Dad - he left right away, and met us at the station.
Now to automobiles! All along the route from Davis to Yuba City, a daily trip for me during much of college, I saw place after place where something had happened. There's where my brakes gave out, there's where I got brake fluid, there's where my car just stopped and I called Dad from that farmhouse... And! There are the fields and orchards that my friend and I used to identify by scent, driving home on a balmy night.
After just over a week with the folks, full of cooking dinners, shopping, and clearing out storage, we're back on the train, this time to Berkeley, to visit with Rick's family!
~~~
To note: capitol corridor trains are unreserved, so (I confirmed this) if you miss your train, you can just catch a later one - you don't have to do anything, just show your original ticket. The TER trains in France work exactly the same way.
Savory Peach Sauce
Savory Peach Sauce
Toast in olive oil:
10-20 chopped blanched almonds
4 cloves garlic, chopped
Reserve half. To the other half, add:
Olive oil
1 cup chopped peaches
Basil
Allspice
Salt to taste
Cook on medium high heat, browning the peaches. Add water as needed to deglaze. Mash the fruit and serve over chicken.
Use the reserved nut and garlic mixture to flavor the chicken of those who don't like peaches.
06 March 2022
California Flowers
I spent part of the afternoon getting reacquainted with my parents' backyard - it was lovely! There's not much to compare to the scent of your hometown 🙂
Peach blossoms
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See more here
05 March 2022
Bok Kai Parade
We went to the Bok Kai parade! This has been an annual parade in Marysville since 1880, and one we went to fairly often when I was growing up here. It celebrates a Chinese water god, and has never, in all these years, been rained on.
Opening gongs and firecrackers...
For more photos and videos, see the album.
~~~
More info:
http://www.bokkaiparade.com/history.html
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