Message 658

Yesterday I picked Beech up at school for our usual Tuesday lunch and homework session. He has now reverted to Happy Meals, and to my amazement he ate nine chicken McNuggets. He started off with the usual 6-piece meal, then asked for more so I bought him an additional six McNuggets, but he only managed to eat half before he gave up, so I took the remaining three and a package of Ranch dressing home to put in his refrigerator. After doing three pages of homework he was playing in the backyard running naked through a stream of water from the hose when his neighbor Daniela from the corner came by with her babysitter and asked if she could play. Beech then got dressed and they bounced on the trampoline for a while and then moved into the house for some games. Daniela mostly played with Annie's kitchen stuff making pepperoni cupcakes for me to eat while Beech set up his Twister game. When Vanessa came home with Annie, I bailed out. Joshua came over at 5:30 PM and watched the Sharks game with me, but they lost to Dallas 2-8 in a shameful letdown from their usual level of play.

About 10 PM Liz and her family arrived. They had stopped off to eat on the way from San Jose before they came to my place. They helped me finish making up the air-mattress beds and then all turned in, since they were all still on Houston time. I watched Charlie Rose who had a terrific hour with Michael Lewis about his just published book named The Big Fall. Bill and I are the only ones up this morning so far. He has already made a pot of coffee, but I am going to wait until we walk up to El Cerrito for breakfast before I drink any coffee today.