It really DOES rain in Southern California!

Today, November 28, is the first day it has rained in San Diego since July.  They have been on water rationing lately, so people here are thrilled to see the rain.

I was here in January 2007 and experienced one of the few times it ever froze in San Diego.  I seem to have a knack for attracting unusual weather.

Today will be a good day to stay home catching up on some reading and writing.  We plan to visit the Botanical Gardens and beach at Del Mar tomorrow.

Pam and I watched Nebraska defeat Colorado yesterday.  Yay!

Go Huskers!

Jeannette

Thanksgiving in San Diego

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my friend, Pam, and family at her home in San Diego.  Pam fixed the traditional turkey, mashed potatoes, creamed corn and cranberry sauce.  Her daughter-in-law, Kimberly, brought a green bean casserole and pumpkin pie.  It was 80 degrees, so we spent a lot of time outside enjoying the sun.  Pam's grandchildren, Skylar (4th grade) and Dylan (Kindergarten), provided the entertainment. We ate around 2:00 pm since Pam's son, Ryan, had to go to work at a hotel in Del Mar.  After the meal we walked to a friend's house just for the exercise and to say "hi."  The roses are blooming and everything is just plain gorgeous here.

The NASM conference at the Hyatt in downtown San Diego was very informative and I had a great view of the harbor from my 14th floor room.  I was there Sat through Tuesday.  On Tuesday, Pam picked me up at my hotel and we drove to the beach at Cardiff.  My top priority was to take a walk in the ocean.

Jeannette on the Pacific shore at Cardiff

Walking in the Pacific Ocean.

I found some great rocks in surprising colors.

BFF Pam

On Wednesday we had lunch at Cafe Merlot (Salmon BLT) sitting outside under some lush California foliage.  There is a little village of shops called the Winery, where we both found some good buys at a wonderful boutique called Cotton Cottage.

Today we will meet Pam's cousin's daughter, Shea, for dinner at the Fish House in Del Mar.  I am looking forward to some fresh talapia.

California is a good place to be in November.

Jeannette

Zachary and Tyler celebrate 12th Birthday!

We had a family gathering at Kristi and Paul's house in Omaha to celebrate Zach and Ty's 12th birthday on Sunday Nov. 15.  Angie, Jan, Dave & I were on hand for a lunch of Jimmy John's sandwiches and amazing chocolate cheese cake.

We got the boys to pose for a nice birthday photo as long as we agreed to let them add a couple of wild and crazy shots, as well.

Happy 12th Birthday, Zach and Ty!

Now, as promised, the wild and crazy photos:

Opening gifts.  Mostly games and books.

This was more effective in person.  Zach is shining the flashlight of his new Cabela's all-purpose pocket knife on his face for a spooky special effect.

 Ellie crossing her paws for a nonchalant look.

We enjoyed lunch and watching the boys open their gifts. Soon they were deeply engrossed in their new games.  Angie and I even tried Guitar Hero on their wii program.  Angie, Kristi and the boys tried all sorts of Extreme Challenges on the wii.  They especially liked rock climbing and racing.

It is amazing to us when we remember 12 years ago when the boys were born.  As I recall, Zach weighed 3 lbs 2 oz and Tyler weighed 2 lbs 8 oz.  They stayed in the hospital for several weeks, Tyler even longer than Zach.  I think it was 8 weeks for Zach and 11 weeks for Ty.  Now we are looking at two healthy, energetic, bright boys, and we could not feel more blessed. Zach and Ty are 6th graders at Russell Middle School, which is within walking distance from their home.  And they live only 40 minutes away from our home in Lincoln, so we get to see them often.

So, Happy Birthday, Zach and Ty!  We wish you many, many, many more happy birthdays, and we hope we get to celebrate with you every year.

Grandma Jeannette

Branson vacation

Dave and I just returned from a week's vacation in Branson, Missouri.  We have a timeshare at Emerald Pointe near Hollister with a wonderful view of Table Rock Lake.  We took Pita along and she had a great time.  Our condo has a kitchen, bedroom, living room and screened porch, so we have all the comforts of home plus a view of the lake.  We took in a few live shows in Branson, ate at some wonderful restaurants and did a little shopping.  There is no internet access at Emerald Pointe, but I was able to read my email on my Palm Treo phone.  The weather was cool and rainy most days, but the sun came out a couple of times as well.

Highlights . . .
Shows:
Country Tonite - popular country tunes, nice country band and some great dancing.

Cassandré - Our favorite show.  She has a band of eight versatile performers and she sings a wide variety of genres.  She told the audience near the end of her show that she earned a vocal performance degree from the University of Nebraska at Kearney about 10 years ago.  She sang with the Haygoods at Silver Dollar City for nine years, and just opened her own show in March.  Her husband is one of the Haygood brothers.

Six - Six brothers - all acapella.  They provide their own vocalized "instrumental accompaniments" to back up their amazing singing.  One brother specializes in percussive sounds, another in wind instruments, another strings, etc.  Very high energy and totally amazing vocal work.

Restaurants:
Candlestick Inn with a great view of Branson Landing.  Pork Osso Bucco turned out to be the same as Czech Kolena (pork knee).  Fabulous!

Andy Williams' Moon River Grill - his mother's recipe for Chicken Pot Pie is the best.

Montana Mike's Steak House - great steak and great atmosphere.

College of the Ozarks - all student run restaurant - still our favorite place in Branson.  Great fish and chips (trout). No student pays tuition.  They all work on campus an average of 15 hours per week.  The campus nickname is Hardwork U.

And now a few photos . . . . 

View of Table Rock Lake from our bedroom window.

Pita enjoyed her view of Table Rock Lake.

Nice screened porch with a view of the lake.

One of the few days we had sun.

Emerald Pointe on Table Rock Lake near Hollister, Missouri.

View of Branson Landing from the Candlestick Inn Restaurant.

It was pouring rain, but I got a nice photo of the fountains and fire show.

Frederick Remington bronze sculpture in the lobby of the Oakridge Boys' Theatre where we went to see Country Tonite.

The trees were nice, too!

The hardest part of being away from home was finding a comfortable chair for Dave.

The best shopping in Branson is at Grand Village.

They also have the best chairs.

Andy Williams' Theatre right next to his theatre.

I recommend the Chicken Pot Pie.

Already looking forward to our next trip to Table Rock Lake.

Jeannette