It is one year since David had his stroke, so I thought a calendar reference was appropriate.  And I be you were worried that I was going to complain about David and his calendar!  Today was a good quiet day.  David and I went to Mumm Napa and had some champagne.  It was another glorious day.  Took our walks and my foot is not perfect, but much better.

After Mumm, David took a nap, and I went to get what I needed to make the eggplant rollatini, and I assure you, it was not the eggplant that I forgot.  I wouldn’t put it past me, but it was something essential, but not in the name of the dish.  It came out really well, and David had not just seconds, but thirds as well.  David said that I could go to the demonstration tomorrow without him – stuffed grape leaves.  I am curious.

After dinner, we watched Project Runway.  Timothy is irritating me, and needs to be sent packing.  I hope Heidi is reading this.  Then the blog – I neglected to tell you that David got a pair of shoes for Paris as well – gray suede with orange soles.  Also, another section of Paris Reborn.

OK, this is a hard one, and quite honestly, it is a stretch for a title.  The key word here is feet.  My foot started acting up today.  It was worse when I woke up, and a bit better now, so I think (hope) it was just a short flare up.

We didn’t do much today.  Spoke to Alex.  Made an appointment with a place near Berkley where they do custom fitted trikes.  We are going on Thursday to see if David might be able to use one of these.  He was never a bicycle fan mostly because of the seat.  I think these reclining models might be a good fit.  Good exercise too, of course.  We’ll see.

I went shopping and was going to make eggplant rollatini, but I forgot one of the ingredients, and didn’t want to go out again, so made something with other stuff we had.  Then we watched Food Network Star, and Hulu followed that up with the finale of HGTV Star, so we watched both, plus a Castle.  I keep wondering, what happens with the old Food Network and HGTV stars when these new ones are selected?  Do they just get put out to pasture?

Then the blog and Paris Reborn.  Also had some folks who guessed the “Oven” song (Lila and Ellen) – “I Can Cook Too” from On the Town.  Sung by Nancy Walker.

I know you will all be surprised by this (well, maybe not all), but today, when I was out on my walk everyone seemed to irritate me.  I didn’t like the shoes one person was wearing.  I didn’t like that ones hair.  It was all I could do to keep from slapping someone.  Maybe it’s the full moon or I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed.  It continued throughout the day. I told David this, and he said that this is his MO.  We decided that the difference between us and folks in an asylum or prison is that we don’t actually hit the people who irritate us, as much as we would like to!

Anyway, took a long walk this morning, and the weather is back to its usual gloriousness.  Went for coffee, and I avoided yelling at the folks on line at Bouchon Bakery.  We exercised and took David’s walk.  Then we went out shopping.  Picked up a few things – I got a pair of green suede shoes from Cole Hahn that are pretty cool, I think, although, now that I mention it, I might get slapped by someone who is a bit irritable.  Who knows, it could happen.

We went to dinner at R+D here in Yountville.  It was nice and the food was good.  Very relaxed.  We have promised that we will go back for cocktails one night soon.  Then home and bed – the blog first followed by a bit of Paris Reborn.  Charles Garnier has been selected to design the new opera house.  That’s where the name comes from!!

It took a while to come up with this title too, and I think some folks will know this one.  Still no guesses for “My oven’s the hottest you’ll find”.  Hint – Lyrics by Comden and Green.

Tennis again today.  David hit with Dave, and it went well.  He worked for about an hour, and at the end he was exhausted.  David that is, not Dave.  I think that it is doing David a lot of good being on the court, not just because he enjoys it but because it is making him work on his balance.  At one point, and I am not sure if I will edit this out when I read the entry to him tomorrow night, he began to walk out on the court without his cane.  I know he can do it, but he is not secure enough yet.  Time.

So, still no takers on the “Oven” line?  The singer also directed the Village People Musical – Can’t Stop The Music.  Yesterdays was a little easy (or at least, better known), and had three folks who answered – Jonathan, Jane and Donovan.  Well done.  In short there’s simply not, a more congenial spot.  Really, Napa is marvelous.  Again, today it was a little cloudy, but it kept the temperature down a bit, which was good.

We also had a lovely Facetime call with Lynda, and talked about her upcoming play that is part of FringeNYC.  Get out to see it if you can, Strange Rain at the Lynn Redgrave Theatre.  It sounds very interesting and fun.

When I was out getting coffee this morning, I got a message from Geoff Van Kirk, who was in SF with his wife, Pat Doyle (both from UNIS), and they were going to be in Napa in the afternoon on their way back to NY, and wanted to stop by.  What a great surprise!  Even better, when they arrived they had bags in tow from a fabulous bakery in San Francisco.  Delicious! B. Patisserie.

Then off to tennis.  Tonight, I had another walk in the evening – La Passagiatta.  One of my favorite memories of Rome was the strolling around Piazza Navona in the evenings, along with much of Rome!  Then the blog and Paris Reborn.

Today was different than all the other days we have been in Yountville.  It felt like it was going to rain.  It didn’t rain, but it felt like it, and the sky was not the usual clear blue – there were clouds!  Well, I want my money back!!  Speaking of money back, nobody got yesterday’s lyric.  I will give you a hint – the song it is from was originally sung by Rhoda’s mother or Rosie the waitress depending on your point of reference.  Tonights headline should be easy, I think.

Today, aside from the weather, was a rather boring day.  I took two walks – one in the morning and another in the afternoon.  David took his long walk, and we exercised.  After all that, we went to CVS and the medical supply store in Napa.  Picked up prescriptions and a special bolster to help David sit up in bed.  I think it will work well.  We were also looking to try out one of those rolling walkers, but it won’t work because he still can’t grip with his right hand.  He can squeeze but, as soon as he starts to walk, he lets go.  Too much to concentrate on.

Tonight we watched Dexter and some episodes of Food Network Star.  I think I see where Dexter is going, but won’t give it away.  Then the blog, Paris Reborn and an episode of Law & Order: SVU

So far, Maria has gotten all the musical references.  Let’s see how this one goes.  Today we went to the Culinary Institute again for the demonstration, and he used the oven this time!  He made, and we tasted Eggplant Rollatini.  Delicious.  And the wine was good too!  David was a little tired today, and he didn’t take his usual long walk this morning.  He actually thought he might not make it to the CIA, but did in the end.

Afterwards, we went to an open house around the corner from where we are staying.  I saw the house (actually two houses) in an email that I got.  I still get real estate updates from when we looked last December.  It intrigued me because one of the properties we looked at was two one bedroom houses on one lot and this was two two bedroom houses on one lot, and it is a lower asking price.  Well, it is lower, because both houses need a lot of work – the materials say they need some TLC, but it really was more like they need to go into intensive care!  New floors, windows, paint, roof, etc.  Great location though – quiet street in the middle of town.
The second dynamic fixing Dapoxetine, help men create a order cialis no prescription stronger resistance towards discharging, and accordingly permit the male to perform for more periods. Thus, successful stem cialis best prices cells treatment for diabetes can help restore erectile function in many cases. However, the working technique of ginseng has not yet uk generic viagra been known. So, select on sale at pharmacy store levitra no prescription this best source from the best pharmacy.
Made dinner, and relaxed at home.  Caught up with Bill Maher and then watched True Blood.  After that, the blog and Paris Reborn.

OK, so the prize for yesterday goes to Maria from Brooklyn and Mary Hall from Washington, DC.  Not to diminish the triumph, but let’s face it, that one was easy.  This one should be easy for a certain segment of the population.  A segment that I belong to.

So, today we went to Frog’s Leap with Dave and Pamela who drove up after doing some business in San Francisco.  We sat on the porch and had a delightful time.  The woman who poured confirmed the story of the name of Frog’s Leap, and it is a play on Stag’s Leap, but the site of the original vineyard was an old frog farm.  Yes, as in raising frogs for frogs legs.  Never really thought of that.  I also heard a story on the radio about someone proposing that in light of the UN’s announcement that looking to insects for a food source, we should start building grasshopper farms.

We left Frog’s Leap and headed back to Yountville and the Lincoln Theatre for an evening of 24 Hour Plays.  Star Jones introduced the performances, and there was a bit of a screw up before she entered.  First, another delayed start (almost 30 minutes) and they turned her mic on too early and without her knowing and she said something about going to the bathroom before going on stage.  There was then another delay, while I guess she did just that.  Awkward.  They didn’t turn it off when she sat in the audience and she began to tell her companion about the music before each of the pieces.  I kept telling David that Joy Zinoman would be having a fit at this point.

The plays were not great, but I guess you can only expect so much in 24 hours.  David liked Christopher Meloni and Tamara Tunie the best, and I liked Allison Janney.  She is much taller than I expected, or at least looks like she is very tall on stage.  Very striking.  The second half was much better, but Dave and Pamela, you still didn’t miss much.  They left at intermission.  David wanted to, but I stood my ground.

Read the blog and more Paris Reborn.  One of the mistakes that the author claims the second empire has made with the redesign of Paris is to segregate the classes – pushing the working class to the periphery and keeping the upper and middle class in the center of Paris.  Some things never change, right?

OK, I am going to make it my mission to come up with a title for every post that is pulled directly from Musical Theatre.  A star will go to the person who correctly identifies the origin of the quote.  I think it will be kind of easy actually.  And, of course it has to relate in some way to the events of the day, so everything was beautiful at the ballet tonight.  We went to the Lincoln Theatre here in Yountville for the second in our cultural outings.  Tomorrow is another.  It was the Ballet Gala of the Festival del Sole and there were dancers from ABT, San Francisco Ballet and San Jose Ballet.  So, we arrived and were waiting in the lobby near the entrance to the VIP lounge, and David became excited because he said he recognized someone, and I asked if it was someone from ABT, and he said yes, one of the principal dancers.  He was sure he knew his name, but couldn’t tell me what it was.

We went into the theatre, and had a bit of a problem with seating, but the usher was great and went to the box office to exchange our seats.  We sat down, and before the show started (late, I might add!) he again saw the ABT dancer.  We had been chatting with two ladies, a mother and daughter from Napa, and they seemed dubious and wondered why David would know one of the principal dancers for ABT.  I explained, that this is the sort of thing that he would know.  So, later, as I am perusing the program, I recognized a name that sounded familiar to me – José Manuel Carreño – and pointed the name out to David, and he let me know that this was the guy.  He is the new Artistic Director of the San Jose Ballet.

The ballet was beautiful, particularly the pieces with the dancers from ABT – Swan Lake pas de deux and Le Corsaire pas de deux.  The other dancers were great too.  One of the dances, not so much, but the rest were great.  There was a lost piece by some early 20th century choreographer, that might have been better left lost, if you know what I mean.  I couldn’t help but thinking of The Music Man and One Grecian Urn, Two Grecian Urns and a fountain, trickle, trick . . . well you get my meaning.  I also couldn’t help but reflect on Les Ballets Trockedero de Monte Carlo during the Swan Lake.  Here is a bit from an ad for Sadler’s Wells.

Anyway, everything is beautiful at the Ballet.

Yesterday, not much happened, but I did successfully make Vietnamese Salad Rolls for dinner, and they were quite good.  Wrapping will take a little bit of practice, they weren’t as tight as I might have liked, but they were tasty!

Tonight, there was no reading.  We just wanted the preview for Project Runway and the first episode, so we were up pretty late.  Tomorrow we have a visit from Dave and Pamela and we will be heading to our third cultural outing after a wine tasting at Leaping Frog.  Another great day.

First, I want to say that tonight, when we got ready for bed, and I went to pull up the blog from last night to read, I discovered that I never published it.  I wrote it, but didn’t hit the publish button.  User error, as they say.  Sorry.  So got that published now.

This morning I got up and took my walk (no running today) and when I got home, Alex, Theo and David were happily playing in the living room.  David tried to tell us something, and I finally figured out that he had to go to the bathroom, and Alex had helped get him up out of bed and on his way to the bathroom, which was great.  He was concerned about what he would do if Alex wasn’t there, and thinks that I shouldn’t go for my walk until after he is up and out of bed.  We will see how that works tomorrow.  He reminded me of this again tonight to make sure that I didn’t leave the house until he was up and out of bed.

In my leadership training and coaching work with managers, I often see a variation of the old parenting adage: team members act like their leader – despite all attempts to teach them good manners.” When one of our kids does something I’m not especially pleased with, my first inclination is to wonder “where did you learn that?” viagra pills from canada If I reflect on it for. This will make the sperm all the more agile and healthy. buy generic levitra http://aimhousepatong.com/item4905.html Pistachio Nuts contain protein cialis generic canada known as arginine, which help relax blood vessels. You must speak to your doctor about the medicine that suits you the best that on line levitra too at the most competent prices.

We took a walk and exercised, and then I went for coffee.  We spent the rest of the morning relaxing and playing with Theo.  Very nice day.  Made lunch, and then Alex and Theo headed back to San Francisco at about 4pm.  We talked about what to do, and David thought that we should go out for dinner.  I did a little research and finally decided on trying to go to Ciccio, which is just down the street from French Laundry.  We drove over, and there was about a 45 minute wait, but the hostess said that she would call me a bit before a table was ready, and we could come back, so that’s what we did.  The place was very, very nice, and the food was terrific.  We had fire roasted padrone peppers and roasted eggplant and peppers followed by a pizza with sausage.  All were delicious!  This will become one of our regular spots while we are here, and I can’t wait to take Alex and Claire.  While we were waiting to be seated, we ran into Marnie, the woman who gave us the tour at the CIA, and she said that this was one of her favorite spots.  She also came over during dinner to check on us, and pointed out that Thomas Keller (the owner of French Laundry) was at the bar having dinner.  Not bad at all!  Good food, comfortable and convivial atmosphere, and just around the corner!

We got home, and David couldn’t have dessert, we were pretty full.  Then bed, the blog (as I mentioned earlier) and then more Paris Reborn.  Tonight’s section was about financing and legal issues, so David was a little confused.  I tried to explain, but I think I just muddied the waters!

There were two stories yesterday that I told that David said were particularly boring. I have no idea what they were. We went to Healdsburg yesterday to visit Mary, Peter, Christy and Gavin who were out from DC and NC. Very nice to see them, and to have a nice visit. We also went to the town of Healdsburg which was very nice. A main square with a park surrounded by various stores and restaurants.

The day started out a little rocky. I had my run/walk, David did his exercise and then we went for a walk. About half way through the walk, David had a fall, which was pretty frightening. Not sure if it was because we went a different way, but he just got his feet caught up, and went over. He only had a small scrape on his elbow, but was pretty shaken up. We got home, with much effort, and got cleaned up and he took a nap before heading off to Healdsburg.
It also supplies essential viagra price cloverleafbowl.com nutrients to rejuvenate sluggish reproductive organs and thus makes re-active for further use. You can buy tadalafil 20mg resort to Kamagra, which provide relief from male sexual disorder. Death of Spouse: ED can also viagra sale in canada be caused by the side effects of: Certain illegal drugs Diabetes Heart problem Obesity Cancer, and Neurological disorders Examining thoughts and beliefs – Why some men remain silent? Super kamagra uk Men who relate sexual satisfaction with performance may feel emotionally burdened while suffering from ED. Truth: – It is a common misconception that female sexual dysfunction does not require medical or physical condition. cost viagra cialis
This morning, we did the same, but David insisted on getting back on the horse, and we took our old route, and he walked the usual distance, even though he was a little sore. Then Alex and Theo came to spend the night. Claire is in Aurora, Il, taking some classes in preparation for teaching in Paris so we had a boys day/night. We had a nice afternoon, and I took advantage of Alex being there to do some shopping. I had also made arrangements for a tennis pro to work with David, and we went to meet him at 4:30. It was great, again, and afterwards, David wondered why he didn’t have any pain or discomfort playing tennis, but does when he is just sitting. I told him that moving sometimes helps alleviate the pain from a fall like that, or at least distracts you from it. We had a nice dinner, and then, since I did’t write the blog last night (sorry) we just had Paris Reborn. We will have a great day with Alex and Theo tomorrow!

We did make it to the CIA for the demonstration, and it was great.  Our presenter made Vietnamese Salad Rolls, and I think I will try them on my own before we go back to Palm Springs.  Very good, light lunch.  The day started off the same – walk/run for me followed by exercise and walk with David, then coffee.  We drove out early to the CIA because there have been some traffic on the weekends, but we got there in plenty of time. We sat and had a latte at their cafe.

The presenter was very personable, and there were only 15 of us in the demonstration.  Learned some new techniques, and the method of pealing garlic will come in handy!  After the demonstration, we had a tasting and some wine, then home.

I took a nap in the afternoon, then made dinner – grilled chicken and asparagus.  David liked dinner tonight, but wanted me to let you know that he was justified in not liking the dinner from last night because it included kale.  This came after I read last nights blog, them more Paris Reborn and sleep.  We also watched Food Network Star, which we are enjoying.

Today was another beautiful day – cool and sunny.  I have to say, it is getting a bit repetitive!  Got up early and took my walk/run, then home for exercise and a walk for David.  I went alone to get coffee, and they now know what I want before I ask.  Nice to be known, right?

We had some lunch and then sat outside.  In the morning, I had seen from the window a partridge and her nine babies running and pecking around in the grass.  Later in the afternoon, when we sat outside, they continued to peck around the lawn and were soon joined by the father.  The video below will prove to you that I have too much time on my hands!

In the afternoon we took a drive down past Napa, and then around the town.  Made dinner, which David didn’t like so much, watched another episode of True Blood, more Paris Reborn.  It is still very interesting. Next, I am going to try to book a demonstration at the Culinary Institute of America for tomorrow and then some relax before bed.

Today was a lovely cool day.  I took a nice long walk this morning and then went for another walk with David.  They were removing the blackberry bushes along the walkway, and not sure why, but I am sure there is a good reason, so we had to take a different route.  Then exercised and went for coffee.  We both took naps in the afternoon, and I made a reservation for Mustards Grill here in Yountville.  The food was just too heavy, and I can still feel it hours later.  Then it was off to Castello di Amorosa for the opening night concert for the Festival del

Sole.  Everyone who was anyone in the Napa Valley was there, or at least they all thought they were someone.  The concert was in the courtyard of the Castello, and there couldn’t have been more than 700 seats.  I am still surprised that we got tickets, and when we got to our seats, I couldn’t believe we had these seats!  We were in the second row on the center aisle!

So, we are sitting waiting for the concert to begin, and amazed at how great our seats are, and I begin looking around.  You may notice how bad the picture to the right is of David, but it really isn’t of David.  If you look just past his left ear, you can see a gentleman looking down reading the festival guide, and it took a moment for me to confirm it, but it was Robert Redford!  See the close up below.

The concert was absolutely delightful.  Audra’s voice was amazing, and her selection of songs was perfect – funny, moving, inspirational – and she sang a lot, and didn’t talk too much.  I said to David when we were on our way home

what I take away is, she just seems like the kind of person you would love to have as a friend.  It was one of those magical evenings, and it all happened in a castello!  Who could ask for anything more?

So, I missed a couple of days writing, and I neglected to tell you about our visit to the Culinary Institute of America in St Helena.  Joy and I went to go to the store, and picked up a few things, and the building was so great that we decided to come back the next day with David to take the tour, and we did.  We took the tour an it really is an amazing building, with lots of history.  After the tour, we had a chocolate tasting experience (well, that was what they called it).  It was an interesting, interactive chocolate tasting, from bean to product.  Lots of fun.  We did this in the morning before the French Laundry.

Last night we went to The French Laundry, which was amazing. The food was great, and the service was impeccable but the best part of the evening was the company. Alex, Claire, Joy, me and David. We left shortly after the babysitter arrived and took the short walk to the restaurant. We were a bit early, so walked a bit through the garden across the street. Here is a picture of David and Alex before we went into the restaurant.

We were still a bit early, so we sat in the courtyard waiting for the table to be ready.  David and Alex were both disappointed that they didn’t have cocktails, and we said we would wait until we were seated to order wine.  I perused the wine list while we waited, and it was pretty daunting – both the size of the list and the size of the prices!  But I knew that before, I looked at it online, and was amazed at the $18K bottle of Sauterne.  That is a little obscene, but I am sure there were also higher priced bottles.

Anyway, after looking the list over, I had some wines in mind for dinner.  We were taken to our table, which was on the ground floor, tucked away in the corner, and the first thing David said was “bad”.  Unfortunately, he had the seat facing the corner, and didn’t have a view of the room, but there was not way, really to move him around to the other side.  That was the last time he uttered the word “bad” for the evening.  It was absolutely perfect for the rest of the evening!

The whole dinner took about three hours, and we all chose the chef’s tasting menu.  The only other choice was the tasting of vegetables, which I am sure was nice, but. . .  David said his favorite item was the Alaskan King Crab “Boudin”, I liked the one with the longest name, Applewood Smoked Bacon-Wrapped Elysian Fields Farm Lamb.  I liked the Bacon and Elysian Fields.  Bacon, because it is bacon, and Elysian Fields because of Streetcar Named Desire.  So for wine, I wanted to stay local, and David likes a Riesling, so ordered a bottle of the Stoney Hill Riesling to start. It was a great choice, if I do say so myself, especially since I have no idea what I am doing. About half way through, when that bottle was done, we wanted to switch to red, and saw a Pinot Noir that looked good and was in our price range, so I asked for the Ancien, Carneros.  The sommelier said that they had sold the two bottles that night and asked if I wanted him to suggest something.  I said yes, and expected him to try to up-sell, but he absolutely understood what price point we were looking at and offered three bottles that fit the bill.  I ordered the Wind Gap Pinot Noir, and it was also excellent.

Anyway, we walked home from the restaurant at around midnight, and all crept into our beds for a nice sleep.  This morning we got up and went for coffee at the Coffee Caboose, and then Alex and Claire gave Joy a ride to the the airport and went home.  We relaxed for the day, and I made a more rustic dinner tonight than the one we had last night, watched Dexter, True Blood and then read a bit of Paris Reborn.

Last night Joy arrived, and we had quite a day planned for today.  Alex, Claire and Theo arrived at 11am, shortly after our car and driver arrived to begin our tour of Napa’s wineries. It was a glorious day, and I recommend highly seeing and tasting wines in this way!  Barry Smith was our driver, and we started off with a bottle of champagne in the car.  Yes, champagne from France.  I know, sacrilege when there are great California Sparkling Wines!  Our first stop was Hunter III winery, where we had a private tasting.  A lovely space and great way to start the day of tasting off.  We couldn’t resist buying a few bottles there.  Next, we were off to Prager for port.  The port was good, and it was a completely different vibe.  Much more casual as we stood to taste and get some background on port.  Bought a bottle there too! Also had a late harvest Riesling, which was not my cup of tea (too sweet) but David liked it.

Then we were off to Frog’s Leap, which was all of our favorites.  Stunning views, and we sat on the porch tasting six wines each, and all were delightful.  Joy actually liked the red wine, which was not the case at the other tastings!  Very relaxing and cool and just the perfect place.  Then we went back to V. Sattui for lunch on the lawn.  Fortunately, we were able to get two benches in the shade.  Again, a very nice time, and much cooler than the last time we were there!

The Start of the Day – David was in the front seat, sorry.

Our first stop at Hunter III

Alex, Theo and David before the tasting

Alex, David and Theo at Frog’s Leap

Joy and David laughing about something

The aftermath at Frog’s Leap

So, a little story about last night too.  When Joy and I got home after picking her up at the airport, David woke up, and called for me to come into the bedroom.  He has spilled juice on the floor, so we cleaned that up, and he gave Joy a big kiss and hello.  Then he wanted to tell me something.  Finally he explained to me that he had fallen while trying to turn off the light, and was very proud that he had been able to get up by himself.  He said it took a while to figure a way up, but after trying the bed post (didn’t work, not able to get a grip), the bed itself (too high), he figured out he could use the chair in the corner to get himself up and back to bed.  What a great feat!!  I was happy that he was able to do it, and that he felt really good about it.

As some of you may know, David is obsessed with his calendar.  He loves to have one printed in front of him.  My relationship with calendars is much more, how shall I say, casual.  Since I have been the “Master of the Calendar”, I have made a few mistakes.  Non of them life threatening, and I don’t think any of them have caused any terrible discomfort.  Anyway, today, we were expecting to have a visit from friends from Washington, or so we thought.  Well, I got the 6th right, but not the month. July and August are so much alike, right?! Fortunately i discovered the mistake early enough, and confessed to David.  He was actually relieved, because, with Joy coming tomorrow (I hope I didn’t get that wrong!) he thought there was too much going on.

Today was another great day, although the morning started out with that dreaded “marine layer” or as we call it back east, fog and clouds.  By the time we were heading for coffee, the sun was burning off the “marine layer”.  We took a walk after coffee at Yountville Coffee Caboose (now our regular coffee place) through the shops at V Marketplace next door.  Not much to see, but a nice walk for David.

For lunch we decided to take a drive to the Oakville Grocery.  And I thought the Oxbow Market yesterday was a scene!  This was crazy!!  The sandwiches we got were great, but I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.  I imagine that on weekdays it might be bearable, but we ran with our food back to Yountville to sit in the back yard.

Then we waited for the guests that aren’t coming until August 6 and took another walk.

Today was an amazingly beautiful day.  The heat broke, and it was nice a cool this morning when I went out for my walk/run and it stayed relatively cool for the whole day.  Clear skies and warm sun.  David took two walks today – on in the morning and then before dinner.  After the morning walk, we went to Napa to explore.  Stopped at the Oxbow Market, which was nice, but we didn’t stay.  It was quite a scene, and we really didn’t see anything that caught our eye.  Drove along the Silverado Trail, and stopped for a tasting at Stag’s Leap.  Nice wines, but not the best space, and not really relaxing.  Then home, and I ran out to do some shopping.

I also called to get tickets for the ballet and theatre performances that are part of the Napa Valley Festival del Sole, and, while it was sold out online, I asked about tickets for the opening night performance by Audra McDonald.  He said he would check, and there were tickets.  Two on the aisle in the second row no less!  So, we have three cultural events in the next couple of weeks.  The Audra concert is outside at the Castello di Amorosa, which should be beautiful.  The other two are in Yountville.  The theatre performance is a 24 hour Play with many stars from TV, and should be very interesting.  They will present 10 minute plays that will be written and rehearsed in 24 hours.  Thought it would be fun.  The ballet features dancers from ABT, Ballet San Jose and San Francisco Ballet.

Off to bed now, night!

Today was too darn hot (another musical reference) in the Napa Valley.  In Sonoma Valley

too, so we took a drive to the coast. Nice trip through the Russian River, but with the heat and all, the traffic in Guerneville was horrendous!  There was a moment when I was about to turn around and go back!  So glad I didn’t.  We stopped for some sparkling wine tasting at Korbel, and then had a bit of lunch, and then, headed to cooler climes.  It was over 100 when we left Guerneville, and by the time we hit the PCH, it was a delightful 70.  Amazing what a difference 20 minutes can make.  Then we drove down to look for Tippi in Bodega Bay.  Made a stop along the way to stretch our legs, and take in the spectacular views of the coast. Lots of traffic on the PCH as well, but it just slowed and didn’t stop like Guerneville.  No luck in finding Tippi or Al, but we did see loads of those damn birds!

Then, the drive back.  At first the warm air was refreshing, but just about when we crossed the 101, it started to get oppressive.  Then, home to the AC again, and David took a short nap.  I made dinner – pasta with brussels sprouts, almonds and bacon.  Very nice and rustic.  Some TV and off to bed for a well deserved sleep.

While we didn’t see any of the fireworks in town, we could hear them, and I think that our escaping the heat was our own version of Independence Day, right?  Tomorrow it is supposed to be much cooler, so we may head to Napa for a visit.

I couldn’t resist the musical reference, and for those of you who don’t know, I’m not telling you.  We arrived in Yountville on Monday, and got settled pretty quickly.  The house is very nice, and the location is terrific.  It is still pretty warm during the day, but cools off quite a bit at night.  The sun is still very hot!  Tuesday, Alex, Claire and Theo came and stayed the night.  We went out last night for a tasting at Domaine Chandon (stingier pour than Mumm Napa) which was nice, then went to dinner at Redd Wood, which is a relatively casual Italian place.  The food was fabulous!  This morning, I stopped and picked up baked goods from Bouchon in town.  When I arrived, there was one person ahead of me, and when I left, the line was beginning to form.  Yesterday, David and I went elsewhere for coffee because the line stretched down the sidewalk!

Then in the afternoon, we took a drive to Castello di Amorosa, which was a bit of a tourist trap, but fun.  Had a tasting there and the guy pouring was from France, and was pretty chatty about why he was much happier to be in Napa. It boils down to his being young and looking for a little adventure, really.  Then we went to V. Sattui, which had a very nice deli, and we had sandwiches in their picnic area.  It was hot, as I said earlier, and fortunately, we found a table in the shade.  After two stops, we were ready to head home to the AC.  Relaxed for a while, took the above video, and a short nap.  Then Alex, Claire and Theo headed off, back to San Francisco.

If this disease is tadalafil super active caused by the genitourinary system disease such as prostatitis, epididymo-orchitis, patients might as well try the TCM therapy mentioned above. Exercise is india tadalafil online http://pamelaannschoolofdance.com/jay-dilley/ needed to keep our muscles from atrophying and wasting away. You will have to buy viagra wholesale agree on the fact that the heath care system of the U.K. and U.S. is quite advanced, the high cost of treatments has also pushed many ED patients to search alternative solutions. It is said to be a speedy recovery cialis canadian method. After they left, I began researching some activities for us to do over the next six weeks.  I heard about the pool at the Francis Ford Coppola winery, and went to book some dates, but found that they are sold out until the last week we are in Napa.  Would have been a great option for when Liza and her kids were coming for a visit.  Will have to check to see if they get cancellations.  Then, I thought I would check for a French Laundry reservation, and miracle of miracles, there was one for next week, so I snagged it, and hopefully we will be able to make the arrangements for Alex and Claire to join us.

I also got an email with more than just pictures from the landlord of the NY apartment, and he has suggested keeping half of our security deposit because of scratches on the floor that were there when we moved in.  I told him he should send the entire amount, or I would have our lawyer (we don’t have one yet!) contact him.  I also asked for pictures of the floors from immediately prior to our occupancy, which, I am sure he doesn’t have.  Again, not really what I need to be dealing with now, and he knows it.

Since we got here, we have been taking walks every day as well as exercising, and I have been taking long walks/runs in the the morning.  I have to find a regular route that suits me.

As you know, we are on our way to Napa, and will be finishing the drive this morning after breakfast with Alex, Claire and Theo. It is just a little over an hour away. We left Palm Springs and the temperature was a scorching 121 as we drove out of town. It stayed pretty warm for most of the drive, but was comparatively cooler when we got to Santa Barbara. We met Lynne at her home, which was beautiful, even while under renovation. I could feel her pain, having lived through a couple of those! We went to the Shoreline Cafe at the beach, and all had the fish tacos. They were amazing. The we got back in the car and headed to Santa Maria where our hotel was. The hotel served our purpose very well. Our window looked out onto the runway for a small airport. Lovely view of three small planes parked outside.
We got up and were on the road by 9, and went to the drive-thru Starbucks, and back on the highway. Lovely drive, but we weren’t really sightseeing, just enjoying the drive. When we were approaching San Francisco, we saw the sun start fading away, and it was much cooler. We checked into our fine, but utilitarian hotel across the street from the zoo, and blocks from the beach. Grabbed a bit for lunch, and called Alex, Claire and Theo, and they were over a little while later. Had a nice visit, and then went out for a drink and bite at the Beach Chalet.
Well, that is enough for now, will tell you all about the movers and more details when we,get to Napa and I have a proper computer. Adventure awaits!