Life at Home

Life at home (for those of you who wonder about what we have been up to)

While life on the road is exciting and exotic, home offers its own adventures. We are enjoying a return to “normal” including book clubs, Shabbat dinners, Mexican Train, rubber stamping and bridge. Each of us has our own group and we also play as a couple (sometimes as “agreeable” partners). Jerry is back in his wood shop in the garage creating furniture and sawdust while Anna Lee stays in the house reading, knitting and writing (and too often doing nothing of import). We continue our great gig ushering at B Street Theater, a local company started by brothers Tim (Field of Dreams and West Wing) and Buck Busfield.

Being with at-home friends is the best part though. We visited a Buddhist exhibit of ancient relics that was both interesting and appropriately peaceful with longtime friends Steve and Rita.


They, Eddi and Dorit, and Saul and Donna and yours truly all laughed at Spamalot the Musical.

We volunteered at the Placer County State Fair exhibit annoying parents by giving out train whistles to their children (with the caution to put them away when asked to by mommy or daddy).

Our favorite part of the fair is the art and craft exhibit. Jerry, of course, likes to examine the industrial arts made by young students. We were amazed by this chair made by a thirteen-year-old girl who can’t have been in this country more than a few years. Jerry tried to recruit her for the school up in Fort Bragg.


Just as we do when traveling, dining is a major part of our lives. For those of you here and those of you whom we hope will visit us, Alexander’s Horseshoe Bar Restaurant in Loomis (a small rural town up Interstate 80) is our new favorite. If Anna Lee had had the camera, you would drool at the beautiful presentation of Boneless Chicken Breast wrapped in shoe string potatoes stuffed with goat cheese, spinach and served on a bed of ratatouille with tapanade and a basil sauce or the scallops on risotto. Let us know when you want to go and we’ll make the reservations.

Sometimes duty calls. Anna Lee was compelled to wake up before six for a two-hour plus drive to Napa. There, along with five other women from her book club, they worked their way through four wineries. Back in the early 90s, teaching at the same high school, Gaye, Pat, Polly and Susan formed a book club; Joann joined a bit later. While books are the main purpose, eating out and occasional field trips are wonderful complements to the meetings. In addition to brilliant literary critiques, these women really know how to create a picnic. It was a long, tough sixteen-hour day but we survived and can’t wait to do it again.




Jealous of Anna Lee’s wine tasting, Jerry (and Anna Lee) went to our community’s wine club. Fun time but not so great wine.

Home for now

Wearing layers of clothing and wrapped in a blanket, we shivered through the Fort Bragg Fireworks Display. This has to be one of the only places where the 4th (actually the 3rd here) of July is cold. Fort Bragg is a small town but they put on a nice display for Independence Day.

Prior to the fireworks we stuffed ourselves at the World’s Largest Salmon BBQ on Noyo Harbor between Fort Bragg and Mendocino. The salmon, corn, salad, and bread were delicious.


In the midst of this throng of people, we sat next to someone from Sacramento. No surprise, as this area is a great escape from the valley heat. The surprise was that the guy recognized Jerry, not by his face, but by his voice. The guy had worked for a former client and had been to court with Jerry many times.

The 4th was surprisingly warm. This part of the California coast is always cool and mostly foggy but everyone pulled shorts and tank tops out of the closet to bask in the almost hot day. That meant the Sacramento Valley where we live and are returning to was blazing (90s and 100s).

We enjoyed a left-leaning small town parade with bands, old cars, politicos, dogs, and off-key singers.



This car has been running around Mendocino for years and we keep wondering how it can move with all the decorations but are always fascinated by it.

Jerry reminds me there were scantily clad women dancing also.

Jerry’s class has ended and he has an interesting stool to show for it. I did finish my knitting and rewarded myself with more yarn.


Jerry writes:
Two weeks of intense woodworking instruction is over. Again, many would say that making a stool is not much. The school has as its title “Fine Woodworking”. This means that your joints have to go together so there is no gap, dovetails have to be hand cut and clean and parts have to fit together exactly. You learn that you just can’t cut it on a table saw and expect that it will satisfy the instructors. One of the exercises in making the stool was taking a square piece of stock and, with a hand plane, make it perfectly round. If any of you would like to try this some time, come on by and I will loan you a plane to work with. The best lesson of all was that it is not just the stool that you learn to make but the process is what is important. While it took Yeung 15 minutes to make his, mine may require 15 days but my skills did improve.
In case you were wondering, a lawyer was not the only professional in the class. We had three computer guys, two doctors including a surgeon, and a couple of teachers. I think I was the oldest but whose counting. Anna Lee adds: and not all the students were male, two ladies who held their own with all the testosterone in the shop.
That said, I did finish the stool.

I brought it home in pieces and have a bit of fitting work to do and then glue it up. Don’t know what we will do with it but I am sure it will find a home.
This closes another chapter of the blog. Stay tuned. We will add anything momentous that occurs here at home and will be back on the road the end of August with Cheryl and Dave.