Susan's Baby Shower

Today was the baby shower for my friend Susan, who is due in January. Her sister, Carrie, did all the organizing and we gathered at the English Rose, a tea house in San Carlos. I can't believe that I hadn't been to a high tea since the summer of 2007 in Boston! As with all high teas, there were plenty of yummy treats and we had a fun time sharing childhood memories. I definitely need to go to high tea more regularly. Any recommendations for other locales in the Bay Area?

Conor and Levi - 5 month update

Fluffy and Fido may not be best friends yet, and they still chase each other, but there is a more friendly, playful tone to their relationship. I took the picture below yesterday - perhaps they were in the holiday spirit and decided to nap together, perhaps they were just still full from Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving is a hard day not to be at home. Last year was the first time I had ever not been with my family for the holiday and this year I again stayed in California. It's just too much to make the trip for such a short break, particularly when I head to Maine in three weeks for Christmas. Nonetheless, I'm always amazed at the outpouring of hospitality and kindness around Thanksgiving and I had many invitations to dinner. My plan for the day was to go to three dinners - after a good swim at the gym! I had a couple of delays getting to my first dinner: the gym was insanely busy and it took awhile just to get a shower, then once I was on the road, 680 was absolutely jammed. I finally arrived at my first destination a little after 1:00 (even though I should have been there a good 30 minutes earlier!). My first hosts were Geoff (my co-worker) and his wife Jenn at their home in Livermore, and two of their friends were also there. They had quite the spread - my favorites being the Sicilian stuffing and sweet potato casserole - but I managed to eat very lightly by Thanksgiving standards. See the beautiful table here:



I need to make a trip to their local winery, Concannon, as they served a lovely Rose wine from there.

I left Livermore about 4:00 and headed to the second destination: Brentwood, the home of a woman I know from the gym, Celia, her husband, Hector, and their two children, Hector and Arturo. I had never been this far east in the Bay Area and it's like another world! Rolling hills (my first experience with Vasco Road), cows, and lots of country. Absolutely lovely. It was wonderful to spend a part of the holiday with Celia and her family. Her husband made an amazing smoked turkey, which he had been working on for two days! I also had my first dessert of the day, perhaps the best apple pie I have ever eaten. Ever. Another must-have recipe. We had great conversation and I didn't end up leaving until 8:00.

Originally I had been planning to finish the day with McKenzie's family, who had been my Thanksgiving hosts last year. But I underestimated how far away Brentwood actually is from the San Jose area. I felt terrible that I couldn't stick to my initial plan but I sent my regrets and made it home around 9:30.

Despite missing my last destination, it was a wonderful, balanced Thanksgiving. I feel very blessed that so many people were willing to open up their homes to me and I'm grateful for all the experiences I had on the holiday. Thanks to everyone for making me feel at home.

Latest Goings-On

Of late I have been feeling that I have my feet back under me, that I am finally grounded in my life out here. This is not to say that I haven't been keeping busy, but I almost forget to post anything because things feel less new. There have, however, been some recent highlights:

- Swimming: I fell out of the habit of swimming while in Boston since my gym did not have a pool. And for some reason even though my gym out here has a pool, I did not resume swimming until late summer. I am now back in the pool! I swim Tuesday and Thursday mornings, from about 6-7 am. Two interesting things: (1) the pool is outdoors and I can swim in it year-round, something one would never find in New England; (2) my fellow swimmers are very friendly and chatty, even that early in the morning. I'm so glad about my return to doing laps.

- Housewarming Party in Livermore: last Friday night I went to my co-worker Geoff's housewarming party out in Livermore (East Bay). Geoff and Jenn have a beautiful home and I enjoyed getting out to the suburbs and seeing a bit of nature.

- Valencia: this past Tuesday I flew down to Southern California for work. It's a very quick flight from San Jose to Burbank, then about a 30-minute drive up to Valencia. There was a group dinner at George's Bistro Tuesday night, then a supplier meeting on Wednesday, along with a quick drive over to the new Boston Scientific facility in Valencia. I'm still not a SoCal fan - it seems like a concrete jungle to me - but Valencia isn't too bad. The most disturbing thing was smelling smoke in the air from the recent fires and seeing all the charred hills. California desperately needs rain.

- Zibibbo: tonight I had a great dinner at Zibibbo in Palo Alto with my friend Susan. They have a wonderful Mediterranean menu, perfectly flavored, and a nice atmosphere. I also had my first ever glass of a pinot noir rose wine - who knew this existed?

- Happy Hours: while this seems to be a lost art out here, we are starting to have about one a month at work. Yesterday we went to City Beach (where I went on my birthday) and I'll be planning another one after the holidays. I'm also going to a non-work happy hour with a couple of friends Monday night in Mountain View - amazing!

Stacy and Mike's Visit

Last Saturday night, Stacy and Mike arrived in the Bay Area from Pittsburgh. They had a packed itinerary in order to canvas the region during their week here! Fortunately I could join them for a day in San Francisco on Sunday. We did some of my favorite touristy things in the city, like riding the cable cars, shopping in Union Square, and eating ice cream at Ghiradelli Square. We also took our first trip out to Alcatraz. Very interesting indeed and we were lucky that the Agave Trail was open as it's the time of the year where the birds aren't there. Their presence could still be smelled though!

Alcatraz from the Ferry

In a Jail Cell

Looking Back at San Francisco from Alcatraz


With Stacy on the Agave Trail

Stacy and Mike on the Ferry - Golden Gate Bridge just barely visible!

Isolation Chamber at Alcatraz

As you can see in the photos, it was an overcast day on Sunday but the rain held off for the most part, a welcome change from my Saturday up in Napa. The rain returned on Monday, hampering Stacy and Mike's second day in the city a bit. I worked only a partial day on Monday and had them over for dinner that night. It was a good night to stay in and catch up!

The rest of the week they spent up in wine country and then down in Monterey and Carmel. As I write this, they are on the plane back to Pittsburgh. These visits always go so quickly!

Recent Discoveries

Since I didn't have any major trips in October, I stayed very local in my activities. No shortage of things to try around here! Some of my recent discoveries:

• Dio Deka: outstanding Greek food in Los Gatos, had dinner here with a supplier.
• Hotel Valencia: following our supplier summit on October 22, we held a reception at the Cielo Terrace at Hotel Valencia in Santana Row. What a beautiful location. I also tried the Vbar here, which has quite the atmosphere. We didn't run into any 49ers or Sharks.
• Creola: serves New Orleans-style food, located up the Peninsula in San Carlos. I went here with some friends from church to celebrate my birthday.
• Silverado Trail: in my previous two times up to Napa, I had never been to any wineries on the Silverado Trail. Fortunately this situation has now been remedied thanks to the guidance of my new friend Karen. A small group of us went today to the Reynolds Family Winery and the Robinson Family Vineyards. The latter is a true gem: tucked completely out of the way, it is still run solely by the family, by hand, and is not commercial at all. They have some fantastic Cabernet!
• Santa Clara University: while I did not pursue doing my MBA full- or part-time this year, I feel fortunate that there are some good continuing education sessions held at SCU. I attended a two-day session earlier in the year; in October I went to a 3-hour seminar featuring author Lisa Haneberg on catalyzing breakthroughs.
• La Fiesta: my friend Susan from church introduced me to this Mexican restaurant in Mountain View, home to an outstanding chicken mole dish. Definitely need to go back again!

I'll continue to keep everyone posted on other new finds I make.