Holiday weekend highlights

We enjoyed a typical Sat morning (Spouse went to his personal trainer appointment; I drank coffee and watched 3 back-to-back episodes of "Sell This House"). Then I called my Aunt Mary because she'd left me a voice message letting me know my Uncle John (her brother) passed away. He lived in Los Angeles so we didn't see each other a lot but I really liked him. Fortunately he came to the east coast last Oct for my cousin's wedding so I got to visit with him then. When Spouse got home we had a light lunch on the screened porch then got ourselves together and went to the beach. We had absolutely stunning weather: temperature around 80, nice breeze and very low humidity. The old adage that the weather is always gorgeous after a storm is true, even if Hurricane Earl never actually showed up here. Later that evening we had dinner with Doug & Jim on the front porch at Hobo's. I had local rockfish stuffed with lump crab meat which was to die for! We had wanted to eat at Cafe Sole but they only had 2 outdoor tables for 4 and both had just been seated, meaning at least an hour wait. But Hobo's menu is so extensive it wasn't hard to find a dozen irresistible entrees to choose from, even though we'd eaten there last weekend. After dinner I dropped off Spouse at home and went to Dos Locos for karaoke, but found there was none, so I headed over to Mandance a little early. They music was really good and it seemed everyone I knew was there. Fun!

Sun morning Spouse & I met Jason & Kevin for breakfast. Although normally crowded, the service is usually fast there, but not this time. It took us an hour and a 1/2 to order, eat and pay! Once back at home we sat and talked on the screened porch for a while. But since it was yet another stunning day we went to the beach again. Sheer ambrosia! Later that night we met up with Steven & Thad, their friend Alan, and 1 of the Bobs for dinner at Saketumi which was fabulous as always. I had the Volcano roll and the crunchy spicy tuna roll. Afterward we wandered upstairs to the lounge where a women's dance party was going on and ran into a few female friends.

Mon morning Spouse went to the gym to do some cardio and then went grocery shopping while I stayed home and cleaned the kitchen. He made a Weight Watchers-friendly birthday cake for Thad and started the chicken parmesan while I tidied up the screened porch and set the tables for Thad's birthday dinner. It was another beautiful day so I took advantage of it by going for a 45-minute walk through the neighborhood. Then I made a salad and helped Spouse get everything ready for Steven & Thad, their friend Alan, 1 of the Bobs and Rusty's arrival for dinner. We spent the entire evening/night on the screened porch and had a great time. Once everyone left we cleaned up and I watched last Thursday's "Project Runway" saved on the DVR. (Watch the videos of the Michael Costello haters!)

It was a fabulous holiday weekend, even without having out-of-town friends stay with us!

Crush du Jour: Marcus Hamlyn