In sickness and in health…

Wednesday night Charlotte got the stomach flu and was up four times throwing up. Thursday was Kim's birthday and Charlotte seemed more or less better, so we went on with the planned activities and had a very nice day. I did nod off while sitting on a bench in Eddie Bauer and was feeling unusually tired, but chalked it up the having to get up so many times the night before to help with Charlotte.

Friday morning I went into work and by about 9:00 AM was getting hit by waves of chills and nausea. Kim called me shortly thereafter to let me know she was in the same boat. I came home and we were all soon it a state of abject misery. One by one the kids fell and soon we were all huddling under the covers between bouts of rushing to the bathroom or changing sheets or mopping floors or putting kids in the shower. Our friend Fran was kind enough to bring over chicken soup and PowerAde.

Today was a huge blessing, as the vomiting seems to be behind us and we tried to put the disaster zone back into some kind of order. Fevers and chills are ongoing and we have no idea what's going to happen with our trip to Eastern Washington that was scheduled to start tomorrow. At this point we're taking it one day at a time.

Hope everyone else stays healthy!

Christmas list!

Here’s a start to my list. The websites are just to give you an idea of what is on my list. I am not personally attached to any of them in particular.
*Yoga bag: Something like this one…it needs to be big enough for me to fit a towel in and it would be nice if it opened like the one below. The link is to just one of the bags…there are plenty of pattern options and I didn’t really take a look at them. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17536246&ref=sr_list_16&&ga_search_query=yoga+mat+bag&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title
*Truffle salt: anyone who has been with me to La Spiga knows how I feel about truffles and anyone who has ever eaten with me knows how I feel about salt. It’s really the perfect combination! http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=35141643&ref=sr_list_1&&ga_search_query=truffle+salt&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title
*The blue soup crock. I already have one and would like another one. Here it says you need to order all four, but in the store you can just buy one. The blue mini round baker set also looks nice. http://www.worldmarket.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3858384
*Stationary- particular for my typewriter. Something simple.
*I phone cover wallet (where I can put a few credit cards in)
*Slippers: the ones they have at costco size 7
*SF MOMA membership http://www.sfmoma.org/pages/membership
*National Parks Pass
*New Yorker subscription http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Yorker-1-year/dp/B00005N7T5/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=magazines&qid=1259129810&sr=8-1
*Some kind of iphone/ipod speakers so I don’t have to keep unplugging the clock ryan got me every time I want to listen to music while cooking. http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11497788&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC7987117&N=4040236&Mo=25&pos=10&No=2&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=87117&Ns=P_Price1P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&ec=BC-EC3-Cat79&topnav=
*Crumpet shop tea- prefer Earl Grey or Crumpet shop blend
*salted caramels
*Simple earrings or necklace or bracelet. A few examples of styles I like…
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=35214175
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27377545
http://www.etsy.com/shop/GemmaBeads?section_id=5189353
* Yoga mat cleaner/spray: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=31147833&ref=sr_list_6&&ga_search_query=yoga+mat+spray&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title
*Lilac spray
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33815310&ref=sr_list_2&&ga_search_query=lilac&ga_search_type=&ga_page=&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title

Trip home

It was wonderful to see everyone while I was home and I hope Thanksgiving goes well. Can you add camera duty to your "chore" list??

I am actually down in LA for the weekend to celebrate Christina's 30th birthday! It should be fun.

Here are just a few of the pictures from my trip home.

Happy Grandma's 2009 Christmas List

Mom's Christmas List:

• CALENDAR FROM TAMMY!!!!-Subsidized by other persons if necessary
• Pot Holders (not too thick and not too thin)
• Wustof paring knife (I don't know what happened to mine-so sad and needed)
• Gladys Taber books (ebay) I already have: Stillmeadow Road, Another Path, Reveries at Stillmeadow and Stillmeadow Daybook.
  
• Little Britches series of books by Ralph Moody or other books by Ralph Moody
• Pumpkin Spice Hobble Creek (why haven't I been burning them all along??)
• Bookmarks( made by Randal Treit Offspring)
• Steak Knives (set of 6)
• Almost out of hot chocolate from Godiva(NOT the French chocolate from Oh Chocolate)
  
• Atlas Grip Gloves size small from Ace Hardware (need a new pair every year)
• Good Stainless Steel Ladle (good place to buy is Dicks in Bellevue)
• Bowling Bag (You know it has to be on the list every year)
• Wine Saver Thing specifically for Champagne( those little bottles are spendy)***
• Unique glass pitcher (not one that looks like you want to serve koolaid)
• Unbreakable bar ware for the boat (for Champagne/Mimosas)
• Della Robia wreath (made from all natural materials)
• Bose Wave Music System with extra remote
• Triple Pie Basket--www.amishwares.com
  

Thanksgiving 2009 Game Plan

Only one week until Thanksgiving, so now is the time to get a plan in place that will set us up for some flawless gustatory execution!  Below is the proposed plan, subject to refinement.

Where
Kim & Randy's

Rough Schedule
Arrival and light appetizer: between 12:00 and 1:00
Linger over dinner: 2:00 - 3:30
Cleanup: 3:30 - 4:00
Relax by the fire: 4:00 - 5:00
Christmas stories & lights: 5:00
Pumpkin pie: 5:30
Quick cleanup: 6:00
Games & Visiting: 6:15 - 10:00

Who's doing what
Last year seemed to work really well, so f each person can again volunteer to prepare and serve one food item and take on one task, that will really help out. Let me know and I'll update the list.

Menu

Turkey	Randy
Gravy	Randy / Mom
Mashed Potatoes
Corn Fritters	Ryan
Olives, gherkins, cranberry sauce	Mom
Yams	Mom
Rolls
Stuffing
Light Appetizer
Beverages	Ryan
Asparagus	Tammy
Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie	Mom

Tasks

Fill water glasses and light candles
Set table
Photographer
Wiping down the tables and chairs after dinner	Ryan
Sweep the floor after table/ chairs get wiped down	Ryan
Clear table
Clear Table	Tammy
Scrape plates and fill dishwasher
Hand wash pots and dishes that don’t fit in dishwasher	Mom
Dry hand washed dishes
Put away leftover food

Can’t wait to see everyone who can make it in just seven days.

 

Will Mom unseat Randy in the gravy taste-off and regain the title? I think we need an American’s Cup style trophy that trades hands…

Treits Landing is Back

Big thanks to Mike for taking care of Treit's Landing hosting for this year!

Sonoma

It's been a little while since Mike and I have actually had a weekend to ourselves. We decided to take advantage of the fall in Sonoma and headed up there for a quick camping trip. We decided to make this our biking wine tour. We biked from one winery to the next, packed our own picnic and truly had a fabulous weekend.

There are two pieces of advice that I would like to pass on to any future campers.
1st: Skunks hate the sound of scratching (at least that is what the ranger said after we encountered one in our campsite...and no, he did not spray us).

2nd: If you have left your towel out to dry, remember to always check it before using it, otherwise you will be standing, naked, in a public shower and find a little salamander hiding in your towel just waiting to crawl all over you.

If you have ever gone camping with me, you know that Jiffy Pop is the top of my "ten essentials." I managed to do this one over an open fire rather than use the camp stove and walked away without a burn!

Here's a travel story mom will love

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23784226/

Tammy's Christmas List

Christmas List

Here's my Christmas List - I'm updating it as I think of stuff. You can even subscribe to it via RSS. :)

It must be so cool....

Just had to add this for posterity.