Last Week of November

At the Dempseys with Ann and John, Tommy and Family, Chris, Tim, Stacey, Mickey & Clark, Jay & Nana.  The one night of the year I really do enjoy over eating.  Best meal of the year!!

Decorating the lobby Xmas Tree courtesy of Kathy and Bob. Also with Cai, Michael, Sirina and Zachary

Traci with the boys in a Spin Fest/ Tag game while Kevin, Maria, Ryland (unwilling) and I willingly stay back

Tina, John and GC take Dexter to see the Niners throttle the Rams in one of the last games at Candlestick

Dexter at rest with 2 friends

Several years ago when the cats considered Oliver the 3rd relatively hairless sibling.

The jokes are no longer funny that this is Sunday before a return to work Monday, for this is in reality, Sunday.  Work waits and it will be a massive work load tomorrow.  The price of several days closed as the mail will pile up, collect and be delivered in mass quantities.  No regrets not going in to work as I have every year Friday after Thanksgiving. I can feel four days off in a rested body- and while we did stop by to do some fish maintenance last night, not a package was  processed, nor an email answered.

These days of family warmth, joking and gathering around pies and food stuffs were rewarding and welcome.   Today we also visited Allison and John's new residence and it is a grand lovely place.  The sun shines while the cold waits (sometime later this week) and it's time to strategically place blankets.  We avoided most forms of shopping while Dexter and I did go to the Hunger Games sequel Thursday morning We also enjoyed '"The Big Easy Express" - a music documentary of a roadshow by train that Cailin suggested we would like.

Caught up with Aunt Janey and although there's been a recent healthy concern, she was still so concerned about feeding us and hosting us!  Multiple cat sitting, a stop at Amoeba records and last night's rousing Eddie Palmieri big band show at the SF Jazz Center (Miner auditorium). Chatted with Jenny Hoover! I don't know where Donald Harrison was but the Baby Bull was in attendance (Orlando Cepeda) to see this all star group which includes Nelson Rodriguez (tres)  and my favorites Herman Olivera (coro)  and Jimmy Bosch (trombone). The arrangements were fun and loose where Bosch would take cues from Palmieri and then tap a band member on the shoulder and wave him along to the front mics to play. And as homage to Cepeda during the first number as accent to the downbeats, Olivera swang an imaginary bat.  Awesome!