Grandparents and Auntie Day at Neil Armstrong Elementary School
Mohammed loading our bags as we get set to travel from Munich airport to Castello in Tuscany
Department of Incompletion: The floor installation at the loft is still not done. Repairing the baseboards is all that remains, won't be complete until January (fingers crossed). Original problem occurred at the end of May. Our neighbor whose faulty fridge water connection started the dominoes falling is just now starting his remediation and and installing new floor.
Department of Rejections: If you book your trip on AMEX card, then certain types of losses are covered. Strikes by essential airport workers...not covered by AIG, AMEX's insurance carrier:
{From an e-mail received on November 5} We will reimburse you for the nonrefundable amount paid to a Travel Supplier with your Eligible Card if a Covered Loss causes an Eligible Traveler’s Trip Cancellation, subject to the cancellation provisions in effect at the time the Travel Supplier is notified of cancellation. That's a firm NO!}
dinner receipt
hotel receipt
Department of Compensation: THB and DB are awaiting final notice of what UA is offering us for the cancelled flight. Turns out that there are refunds, just not visible on the UA site until you go to pay for a flight and insert the promotion code linked to the refund. THB and DB each received $650 credits that have to be used within the next year after the credit is issued. After submitting a claim, UA issues HB $300 for the hotel and dinDB.ner and breakfast meal. Amazingly to THB, they did not issue a similar amount for DB. On December 10 the final credit (that's a yes) was received from UA...case closed!
Department of Medicine: THB shares this pic in the pursuit of knowledge and not exposing the followers to something far more "icky":
THB's urine is a deep yellow because it indicates that the retina doc is having yellow vegetable dye injected while the tech takes pics of THB's left eye. The results are in: THB is now getting shots in his left eye (just as the series of shots in the right eye is coming to an end after several years). THB made the editorial decision of using this indicator of eye decline rather than a short video of the Avastin being put directly into the eye. Follow-up visit for shot 2 in left eye and the scan shows that first shot was 95% effective!
Berkeley Bowl has a plumbing problem and THB is out o luck
THB continues on his sushi-grade fish search (on his e-bike),Tokyo Fish is open (Billy Joel's Piano Man is playing in the background)
E-ville's newest mural, across the street from the Loft
The floor installation is nearing completion, the bed is finally back in its niche; Late December: all that is left to do is finishing baseboards . May 30 was the original flood date.
LB upgrades THB's beach house desk chair: THANKS!!
Sandy has been moonlighting, here she is back from a photo shoot
THB is in his pajamas because this World Series game lasted almost 7 hours. LAD win series in 7 games, the last one a real thriller (and only 3+ hours long)
decluttering is working...
up next to go: the elliptical has put in 17 years of valiant service
It has been 6 years since JD passed away; he is remembered with flowers on a bench outside the community garden
car art (or art car?)
high tide at Monterey beach, almost no dogs (cold) and dead sea lions
double pane window started to leak, now replaced (covered by HOA dues)
C&J spend a weekend at beach
half day at Monterey Bay aquarium; twins carry DB and THB phones and take lots of pics and videos
snack time
C
J ? C ? C w/o her hoodie on...probably...or J with hair curled...maybe
the Lost Child (Ferrante novel)
twins don't see the lost triplet
THB and DB follow this Ashby Village co-hiker, confident we won't get lost
elliptical looking for a new home: calling 1-800-Got-Junk...a very "slick" outfit
somebody took my spot...this one is open
the beginning of the Eagle Run, how many laps can these girls do in 12 minutes (C on left, J on right, both in highly unusual running outfits)
KM (aka mom) is in charge of the volunteers
how many laps (they are longer now that the twins have reached 2nd grade)?
J still needs help peeling a banana
What the twins wore before the Eagle Run: J in handmade sweater by Knits by DB and C in latest from the streets of NY; the volunteer in the Halloween Costume by Givemeabreak (pronounced GeeVern-AYE)
Pajama dat at school
twins getting ready to perform their gymnastics' class-ending routine
Sandy spying wildlife
two-toned gingko tree
indoor wildlife spying on Sandy
Doug-Digger snoozing in the courtyard
The ramp is deconstructed and D-D finds a new nap site
D-D discovers one of Sandy's indoor sleeping spots
THB saw how Dug does it: he climbs up on a chair and then to the table...why?
giant mushroom in the dunes
The last two months of the year have been full of clear skies and great sunrises and sunsets. Could this be the reason?: the gloom that has gripped California’s Central Valley since before Thanksgiving is known as a tule fog...
Dec 30
LB breaks her left ankle falling down one of the set of stairs in the Beach House. Big beautiful break and a torn ligament: screws and plates. She asked that THB post no pics of her fractured leg. Above pic is a THB-installed ramp, handing for a wheelchair. Below is LB's "status" in her hospital room. She's now set up in the downstairs master bedroom: mini-fridge, microwave, table doubling as dining spot and work bench, new TV.
too heavy, the only one available at the hospital
ordered on-line, much lighter (and delivered to 208 by mistake)
The twins arrive at the beach
Just in time to help Auntie LB make her way from the car to the front door
It's a Santa escape scene; reported missing from a bottom floor apartment at The Emery
how to get in the door at the retina doc's office...remember, all the people trying to get in are extremely sight impaired. It's a game: three #2's and a hidden #1
Steve B arranges a meet-up when staying at nearby Asilomar
here's a pic of THB and Steve B from 2013 (or it could be 2010?) with different head gear: do rags
Department of Obituaries: Frank Gehry died recently; THB's mom and dad were big contributors to the LA Philharmonic /Disney Concert Hall (their names are on the wall). Sometime in the early 2000s, DB and THB were in LA and JOB (mom) took us as her guests to the Sunday matinee at the Disney. DB sat with JOB and THB had a seat that JOB ordered that was in the second row of the middle set of downstairs seats. JOB and DB were on the right side of row 2, THB on the left side.
It turned out Frank was there that Sunday afternoon and before the concert started the conductor turned to the audience and said that it was Frank's birthday, and let's give him a round of applause. THB starts looking around...Frank was sitting right right behind THB in row 3. Guess JOB had real pull, her "extra" ticket was for the second best seat in hall.
THB hot tip: If you haven't been, the Bilbao Guggenheim is the best form and function museum on the planet (okay, THB has not been to all the museums...this is a DJT-era now). The Richard Serra work looks great in the space. Serra and Gehry were friends. When we were there, the Kiefer exhibit was also fabulous. In addition, there's an excellent documentary directed by Sydney Pollack on AppleTV, Sketches of Frank Gehry. Worth a viewing!
What THB did on his winter vacation: pulled out ice plant
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
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