Message 470

Yesterday I took my van in for its 90, 000 mile servicing. It took all day, so I had to take a loaner car home and drive back at 6 PM to pick it up. I saw the first part of Obama's speech on TV, then listened to most of the rest of it on the radio. I thought it was a good speech. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

Last night I watched a DVD of the movie The Lookout. It was an unusual movie about a bank heist, where the main character was brain damaged so he had trouble remembering things and was marginally functional. The only actor I was familiar with was Jeff Daniels, but he was a supporting character. I give it 3.6 stars.

Message 469

Yesterday I took Larry and Judi and Larry's sister Rita and their two grandchildren, Brad and Tannis to San Mateo for a play date with Beech and Annie. Vanessa fixed a wonderful dinner and the kids had a ball. I got home in time to see the second half of The News Hour and Nightly Business Report.

In the evening I watched a DVD of the movie Trans-Siberia. It was a thriller/mystery with Ben Kingsley and Woody Haralson the only actors I was familiar with. Its main attraction was that it was filmed in China and Russia on the trans-Siberian railroad, which was interesting for me to see. I give it 3.6 stars.

Message 468

Yesterday I had coffee with Helen and Jim because it was a holiday. In the late afternoon I went to the usual Sunday family dinner at Julian and Vanessa's that was held on Monday this week because of Memorial Day. In the evening I watched a DVD of the movie Iron Man. I was amazed at what a good cast it had. Also, I am not much of a fan of comic book movies, but I thought this one was much better than usual. I give it 3.5 stars.

Message 477

Yesterday was Annie's birthday, and Vanessa and Julian had coffee and bagels and fruit and orange juice and cupcakes at Nealon Park as a family celebration. It was very nice, and convenient for me too. Afterwards I came back to my condo and finished reading The Economist. In the evening I watched Masterpiece Mystery on PBS. I just got a call from Helen so I am leaving now to walk up to Starbucks to join her and Jim.

Message 466

Yesterday morning I met Helen and Jim at Starbucks as usual for Saturday. In the afternoon I picked Beech and Annie up and took them to Larry and Judi's house to play with their grandchildren, Brad and Tannis, who are a boy and a girl 6 and 4 years old. They live in Fresno, but are staying with their grandparents for a couple of weeks while their mom and dad get away for a vacation without kids. They all had a great time playing, especially riding on the zip line that Larry has strung across his back yard. Vanessa and Julian stopped by about 4:30 PM to take them home. I then went home and changed clothes to go to Ariagnos house for appetizers with the Willettes and Morrills and Larry's sister Rita. (Laurene and George have been visiting their daughter and her family (including their 16-month old grandson), for the past week or so. They will be flying back home to France on Wednesday.) There three of Ariagnos grandchildren joined Brad and Tannis in the pool, with Ron in there with them as the adult presence. Annie and Beech were invited to this swim party too, but I figured they were not up to staying up that late after their usual bedtime. Also, I did not feel up to watching them there. Besides, after their afternoon playdate, they were pretty well worn out. After a couple of hours at the Ariagnos we all returned to the Morrills house for the main course and dessert part of our meal.

It was near midnight when I got back home, so I did not watch a DVD. As usual when I eat so much food so late in the evening, I had indigestion all night. However, it was such a fun day that it was worth it.

Message 465

Yesterday about noon Vanessa called and asked me to take Maureen to the PAMF Urgent Care Center, so I did. She had been having heartburn-like symptoms for several hours and thought it might have something to do with her heart. She was at PAMF for six hours or so , but in spite of x-rays, etc., they were not able to figure out what was the cause of her pain and general feeling that something was wrong. I went home after about an hour at PAMF because in the meantime her son Jess and Vanessa had both arrived. A year ago Vanessa asked Maureen to take me to PAMF Urgent Care the day after my prostate surgery, so this year it was my turn to return the favor. For the rest of the afternoon I watched the PBS news programs and read half of The Economist, which came in the afternoon mail as usual. I forgot to mention in yesterday's message that I read this week's Science which came on Thursday.

In the evening Joshua brought in Mexican food and watched San Francisco lose to San Diego in their final pre-season NFL game. A week from tomorrow will be their first real game of the new season, but Joshua will miss it and the following week's game too because he is flying to Amsterdam today for about ten days. Kevin Sorrels is driving him to the airport.

Message 464

Yesterday Vanessa and I had breakfast at Heidi's Pies. Beech was in school in his combined kindergarten/first grade class. Annie was at day care, so we had a peaceful and relaxing breakfast. In the afternoon I took Beech to his Kung Fu class and then to Roundtable Pizza.

In the evening I watched a DVD of the movie Last Chance Harvey. It had a good cast but was basically a boring movie. I give it 2.5 stars.