Pictures

He's Here!

Andrew (Drew) Joseph was born July 19 to Joe and Ellie! A week later, Jim and I were there holding him and admiring him. Of course, we were also holding and admiring big sister, Leah, and cousin, Elsa. Yes, Tim and Sara were there also. We had all of our kids and grandkids in one place. What fun! We hadn't seen any of them since Christmas, Elsa was just 5 weeks old. It was fun to see how much she had changed. She looks like her Mom, but she had a lot of Tim's "baby" mannerisms.
My camera and computer aren't cooperating these days so I will post pictures as soon as I can get them to get along.
Leah will turn 3 next month so I will be going back to St. Louis shortly. And then, we'll all be together again for Thanksgiving. Elsa turns 1 the week before, so we'll have a party for her.
In the meantime, it's work, work, work.

Sonoma Valley

Yesterday, Jim and I went for a drive over to Sonoma Valley, more wine country. Sonoma also is a big producer of olive oil and cheese. We went to our favorite winery there, Viansa, for the view, some wine and food.

We went into Sonoma to the Square and walked around, checking to see if anything had changed. There are numerous art galleries, restaurants, and shops of all kinds. In the middle of the Square is a park. There were a lot of people there enjoying their picnics. At one corner of the Square is a Mission. There are dozens of these Missions all up and down the California coast. It's pretty interesting, if you're into history at all.

It was a beautiful day and felt good to be out and not thinking about work and business. Enjoy the pictures.

Did You Know?

Here's a little bit of humor from our local winery, Wooden Valley.

A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo, and when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the culling of the weakest members.
In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as its slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells. However, it naturally attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of wine eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine.
It is for this reason that you always feel smarter after a few glasses of wine.

Do You Skype?

If you don't Skype, you're missing out on a great thing. I got a webcam for Christmas and signed up on Skype. I have great fun with Leah every week. Sometimes we just sit and chat, sometimes I watch her color while we chat and sometimes Joe is following her around with the laptop while she shows me stuff. I really look forward to our weekly gabfests. Elsa, at 6 months, hasn't got it figured out yet. She just stares and stares, doesn't even crack a smile. But at least I have her attention. One of these days, something will click and she'll giggle and laugh. I do my best. I can actually see how much she has grown and changed. With the new baby coming in July, I'll be able to watch him grow also. Skype is a Grandma's best friend.

More Pictures

Let's Catch Up

Hi! I'm back! It's been a crazy 5 months but I'm ready to get back into the blogging business. This will be a loooong one.

Surprisingly, we were busy all summer and fall with the Roni Deutch Tax Center. That didn't leave too much time for other stuff but I did manage to squeeze in a few things.

In Oct. a group of us from the Newcomers Club spent a day in San Francisco touring the sites of movies made in the city. We met the bus at the Ferry Building. They were having a Farmers' Market. It's always interesting to see the different varieties of everyday fruits and veggies. Inside the Ferry Bldg is a foodie's dream. All kinds of shops related to food. I think I mentioned this place in an earlier blog. The movie tour was really fun. It was a gorgeous day to boot. We got a quick peek of George Lucas' place where he does some film editing.

In Nov. we became grandparents again! Elsa Maxine was born to Tim and Sara on the 16th in Philadelphia. We finally got to meet her when we went out there for Christmas. More on that later.

In early Dec. another group from New. Club went to SF to tour the Palace Hotel. They celebrated their 100th rebirth. It truly is a beautiful place. It survived the 1906 earthquake and fire that just about did in the whole city. After 3 years of renovations, it was reopened, bigger and better than before. We had a very nice lunch there.

Christmas! We went to Tim and Sara's for Christmas. Joe, Ellie and Leah were there also. We had a great time. It had just snowed a bunch so it was beautiful. We entertained Leah, she entertained us and Elsa was passed around and around. And, we got some great news. Joe and Ellie are expecting another baby in July! Oh joy!

So that brings us to now - Tax Season. Guess where I spend most of my days (& evenings). We're actually doing quite well. A lot better than last year, but I guess that's to be expected. So, until next time.........I promise it will be soon.