Message 299

Yesterday I almost finished reading last week's Economist. Vanessa brought me two quarts of chicken corn soup for my cold. I have eaten one and a half of them so far.

Last night I went to a late movie with Larry and Judi. We saw Two Lovers, with Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Isabelle Rossellini. Even though it dealt with a realistic and troubling subject, and made me uncomfortable to watch it, I give it five stars.

Message 298

After my usual Thursday routine yesterday with Vanessa and Annie at Heidi's Pies and the library, I stayed in San Mateo while Vanessa and Jin (her helper) took Annie for her Pottery Barn photo shoot. At 2 PM I picked beech up at school. I originally planned to take him to the park and then to his Hip Hop dance class, but he refused to go to those and said he wanted to drop out of the class. We played several of his games and had a good time until Vanessa got back home about 5 PM. I had some pizza that Vanessa ordered delivered and then went home.

In the evening I finished watching the special features of Black Book, which is a Dutch film released in 2006. I give it four stars. It is a long and complex file about resistance to the Nazi occupation and their killing of Jews near the end on World War 2. It is done very well by a cast that was unknown to me but quite good. However, it requires watching the commentary to understand what is going on. It is based on true events, and I am so impressed by it that I am tempted to give it five stars, but decided it was too hard to understand for that.

I have a cold that is causing me to cough and have a sore throat. I hope I can get over it without needing Zithromax.

Message 297

Yesterday morning Liz and I had breakfast at El Cerrito. Vanessa joined us after we finished, so we went to Starbucks where Vanessa had a coffee. Jason eventually joined us and had a coffee too. Liz and Jason then left to pick up Josh and go on to pick up Ethan and Bill at SFO.

I am headed up for Heidi's pies now. I will fill in more tomorrow about the DVD I watched most of last night.

Message 296

Yesterday I had my usual Tuesday routine with Beech at Burger King and his gymnastics class. When I took him home I met the girl who is helping Vanessa while Julian is in New York. She seems very nice and competent.

Liz has finished with her dermatology meetings in San Francisco. I picked her up at the Palo Alto train station at 5 PM, and we ate dinner at the Sundance Mining Company. This morning we are having breakfast at El Cerrito, and Vanessa is joining us at 9 AM. Jason will pick up Liz there at 10 AM, then they will pick up Josh at his house. The will meet Bill and Ethan at SFO at 11:10 Am and head for Northstar.

Last night Liz and I watched the Sharks beat Minnesota 5-4 in overtime. The game unfolded just like last week's game with them in San Jose, but with the opposite ending. After the hockey game we watched a Netflix DVD of the movie Body of Lies. It was a spy thriller in the Middle East with Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio, and directed by Ridley Scott. It was good, but I only give it three stars. The plot was too convoluted and it was hard to tell who the people were and whether they were good or bad, which I suppose was partly the point.

Message 295

I took Liz to the train Station again this morning. This is her last day attending the meetings. Last night we ate at Sultana, where Pot au Feu used to be. It was very good. Later that evening Josh came over and watched 24 with us. He is working hard to get enough done to be able to go skiing with his siblings tomorrow.

I have already run the dishwasher. I think maybe I will do another load of laundry today too.

Message 294

I just took Liz and Andrea to the Menlo Park train station to go to their meeting in San Francisco. Andrea is flying home to Spokane this afternoon, and Liz will catch the train back here this evening. Yesterday Liz took all the females (Andrea, Susan, Vanessa, Chelsea, Melanie, Amelia, and Caroline) to tea. Ellie decided she would rather stay home with me and Jason, and Jamie and the twins instead of going to the tea party. Julian came down with Beech and Annie, and we all stayed through dinner. Beech, Ellie, Caroline, Liz, Jason, and I all went in the hot tub after dinner. Beech was the only one to jump in the cold pool (several times). It was wonderful to have everyone get together over the last two days.

Message 293

Liz and Andrea have gone out for a three-mile run. When they get back we will go to the Golf Course Grill to meet Helen and Jim and Joan and David for breakfast. We had a great dinner and Texas Hold Em game at Jason and Susan's last night. Julian was there with the kids, and Jamie and Chelsea came without kids. It was only their second night out using a babysitter.