Easter 2019

We had a fun Easter!  PJ doing lots of prep work - which paid off - plus a fun if short visit from Patrick, Shane, Hayden, Spencer.  They and the locals gathered here on Sunday (21 April).

clockwise from upper L:  PJ made lotsa brunch goodies; working on the traditional EB cake;
Sunday was lovely in the backyard (and the newish turf passed its first test)

clockwise from upper L:  naturally things started at Unc's; Spencer and I explore the backyard per
 our usual M.O.; PJ''s core decorations await repose 'til next year; Five Crowns into late evening Sunday 

year-end 2018

Romie turns  one (Dec ~7, 2018)

PJ's Christmas stockings (with a few add-ins, including NOC-work) are aging well

of course we went to Richardson's for lunch

of course we went to Parlor for dinner

gathering at San Juan

gathering with Stern family

SF crew heads home (one member injured in boisterous badminton battle)

ringing in the new year with Five Crowns

year-end 2017

random T'giving day scenes

2017 Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Year's cycle was a fun follow-on to the year's full calendar.

ASU tailgating (T'giving weekend)

With all the travels earlier in the year, there were less days during the holidays when we all were together in Arizona.  A plus:  Sreedhar and Janu were still in Arizona to help us observe Thanksgiving.

Sreedhar took the lead in preparing a pretty amazing meal - bittersweet to be using
recipes from his wife - PJ assists with dessert - this was a wonderful evening (2 December 2017)

PJ's handiwork looks as good as ever

Ernest Gales holding Roman Gales - nice!  Christmas Day.  Creche in background.

Closing out a wonderful 2017 and/or welcoming 2018.

year-end 2016

Another year-end, another epic round of holiday doings and fun.

Kerry arrived late on Friday, December 16.  Initial focus was on some tasks for K&L wedding - coming soon! - quite a bit of prep work was accomplished - some vendor meetings on Saturday, for example, attended by those doing the actual prep work.  Also on Saturday:  bridal shower hosted at Nedda and Paul Jr.'s place with Nicole overseeing things in her matron-of-honor role.  Boys weren't invited but we were given to understand that a good time was had by all.  Patrick arrived by Sunday, so after that just waiting for Luis to hit town.

Kerry's shower (Nedda & PJr's place) (12/17)

Shower fanciness!  (12/17)

There were some K&L wedding prep activities that I did help with, if that's the right word:  food tasting at Bianco's over lunchtime on Monday, December 19, and another food tasting at Fuego Bistro on Friday, December 23.  Most all of us as available joined for both events - very optimistic that wedding guests are going to love this stuff.

Tasting crew doing careful work at Fuego Bistro (thanks, Jeff!)  (12/23)

Then there was a major development - at request of Chris, PJ arranged a ring-shopping expedition to Wesley's in old town Scottsdale - this took place surreptitiously (at least as far as Dharma was concerned) on Sunday, December 18.  With a return visit to pick up the final product after Bianco's tasting on Monday.  This was exciting, and sneaky, and the most excellent news.  CPG came up with a truly beautiful ring.  Also on Sunday night:  book club at 706 to discuss Nicole's choice:  Gilead.  And eat some good food etc., with a white elephant gift exchange.  Nice night.

Shopping at Wesley's!  (Note EPG in mirror.)  (12/18)

Big decision, fine result.  (12/18)

On Tuesday, December 20:  we all gather at Brophy Chapel for the Christmas concert by the Phoenix Chorale - third year in a row - joined by Alison and Graham this time - really a quite excellent program, and the group sounded great per usual (though this remains my favorite Phoenix Chorale concert).  We walk over to "Hula Tiki" after, which fit the bill perfectly; drove EPG's car home as the young folk weren't quite ready to shut it down when we were.  Very fun night.

K, EPG, PJ did some pretty good work on tree-decorating.  The two elves didn't let
PJ get away without opening every decoration-storage-container, some more than once.
I like that the stockings PJ made are visible on fireplace in background here.

A different kind of gathering on Thursday, December 22:  some of us join Paul Jr., Cafiso and friends at a new place called the Wandering Tortoise.  We had a very fun evening, the place features quite excellent beers, and Michael was kind enough to share his mega-Stone bottle with our group (20th anniversary version recalling this trip).  For some reason the beers seemed kind of lethal but we all survived; late food at Deluxe.  As mentioned - December 23 was a fun tasting at Fuego - then the young folks spent the evening catching up with friends in Tempe.

Wandering Tortoise provided a fine evening (12/22)

Now it's Saturday, December 24 - for PJ and me, our first order of business in late morning is picking up Luis from the airport - now all are in town and everything is official!  Kerry works with Chris on a multi-layer packaging deception for the engagement ring - Layers of Misdirection.  In the afternoon we head up to Desert Ridge - saw the next Star Wars Movie ("Rogue One") - enjoyed the outing.  Even if rain was pouring down.  We eat some of the marvelous appetizer selection (courtesy PJ and POC), play pool, eventually get word that [K's wrapping job finally had been overcome and] Chris and Dharma were officially engaged - yay!  Dinner is at the Gladly (Richardson's had been booked by somebody else, so a change in venue); this works out really well.  It's such a great group and always nice to gather on Christmas Eve; two plus elements this year:  (1) very nice to have Luis with us for Christmas Eve/Christmas for the first time; (2) very nice to have the newly-engaged couple (it's exciting to share the experience so close to the actual moment).  (Plus Cafiso came through with a couple fine bottles of wine complete with "Capuso" tag.)  Then back to the house for a session of gift-giving - fun, nice, thoughtful; including Grandma's peanut blossom cookies complete with chocolate stars (courtesy NRG).

Christmas Eve at the Gladly.

Looks official!!

Sunday, December 25 - PJ makes some fine breakfasts; POC, NOC, EPG and me go hiking over on west end of Shea, lovely day (if a bit on the cool side).  Then a true feast of appetizers and marvelous beers for tasting - the beer shoppers did strong work, as did the appetizer chefs.  As the afternoon proceeds PJ leads the cooking effort leading up to dinner.  Saeed and Mina stop by; laughs and chatter.  Dinner was pretty amazing stuff.  There was a new board game - involved drawing things - this was fun and kept us amused until quite late.

Christmas Day hiking.

Appetizers and tastings with this crowd (12/25).  Great way to build an appetite for supper.

Bad luck for me, I was hit pretty hard by a cold overnight; otherwise Monday, December 26 was quite delightful - everyone enjoyed being a little less scheduled.  Games, a jigsaw puzzle, great leftovers, more appetizers.  All but me go over to a party at Mary Beth Stern house in the evening.

Old school entertainment.

And that was pretty much it for such a nice break - PJ back to work Tuesday morning; Kerry and Luis fly back to VA; at least Patrick was able to stick around for a few more days, so that was nice.

Working on the mini-tree with my friend 
(downsizing it seems like a good idea 
given pool table and everything 
else going on in the room).

Year-end 2015

It was quite a year; more travel throughout the year than usual (a good chunk of it unexpected); but all just as nice as can be.  Including various doings in the last few weeks.  As far as holiday visitors - Kerry had a relatively short holiday visit; but Patrick had a relatively longer one.  Still, it all went very (too) quickly.  Below are a few photos from end-of-year events.

However:  no photos from the clearcut #1 event of the end-of-year cycle:  LUIS AND KERRY ARE ENGAGED.  This happened at a New Year's Eve party at the Virginia apartment.  Luis had called me in the afternoon - guess what, it made me very happy.  And having the news also made for a difficult task of keeping quiet for a few hours.  Back in Arizona, we had wrapped up a NYE dinner gathering (at Rick & Laura Weis place) and Mary Beth was driving us home (with a detour for Christmas-decoration-viewing) - when PJ's phone rang with the news.  The news seemed implausible to her.  But she moved quickly from considering it a moderately funny joke, to incredulous, to weeping (with those last two stages merely different forms of "joyous").  Skylar - in her car seat - was a little concerned about the weeping part, but seemed to understand that it was ok; she certainly handled it just fine.  It was a great capper to 2015.

The photos:

CPG continues working the Suns88 organization; natural-born hams attend fundraiser in November.

Tom Chambers x2 at Suns88 event.

Another Star Wars movie was released . . . some attended in costume.  Dinner at Solo Trattoria
prior; movie "met expectations"; joined by Trevor and Jessica; a fun evening.

POC, NOC, EPG and I attended the Phoenix Chorale's Christmas concert.  Program wasn't as much to our liking
as last year, but the performance was their typical high level.  For one song they were joined by a group of
high school(?) kids whose sole function was to run their finger around the top of
a half-filled water glass.  The effect was amazing.  Brophy chapel.

Random encounters at The Parlor.

An evening at Richardson's, per NOC Instagram.

Christmas gathering at MB's.

Holiday (quick) round-up

We wrapped up 2011 with a bunch of fun stuff.  Quite similar to prior years, actually.

Started holiday things with the POC + Nicole visit mentioned here, and the Christmas concert mentioned here. 

Zinc Bistro

Patricia and I did a little shopping on December 22, and then stopped for a surprise (and leisurely) lunch at Zinc Bistro.  Then wandered around the shops in that area for awhile, stopped back for coffee (French press, of course) at Zinc, then home.  Dinner at Vincent's that eve (OK food, very nice time).  A fine day.

Rokerij

Patrick and Kerry arrived for the holidays on December 22/23.  Christmas Eve dinner at Rokerij.  Christmas Day dinner at home - our cooking crew truly outdid themselves.  Card games, board games, movies, etc. throughout.  MB hosted for dinner December 27.  Checked out the PJr-Nedda wedding site on one of our outings (this was on December 28); followed by lunch at Fuego Bistro (out in the sun on the patio of course as this was a gorgeous day).  Followed by bocce ball at the park. 

New Year's Eve - much enjoyed the evening; the kids (if I can still use that term) went downtown shortly after dinner; we had friends over 'til midnight, some nice beers, etc.

Unfortunately this did have to end, as Patrick and Kerry made their returns on January 1/2.
 

i-team at wedding site

checking out wedding site

bocce ball at our underused park . . . I think we (K and me) won.

 2011 = very fine year.  Again.  

July 4th weekend (hotel/concert)

OK, all our activities were over by 11p July 3, and PJ worked a full shift on July 4. But it still felt like a fine 4th of July holiday weekend.

We revived an old practice (maybe even a "tradition") by staying over at a Scottsdale hotel for the holiday. The revival was instigated by Chris and Paul Jr, who figured out that the event (last held in 2002, we think) probably wouldn't happen again unless they made the reservation themselves. So, we were on. Arrived July 1. Parked beside a 2003 Kia which we correctly interpreted to mean that Patrick had shown up (unannounced) all the way from Santa Monica. It's not easy to pull off a surprise, but he did it. Once his mother recovered from the shock, we checked into the room, went to the happy hour (the property does draw an interesting, shall we say, crowd), to dinner at the onsite restaurant, out for a little swimming, and back to the room for a little euchre to finish off the day.

Full day at the hotel on July 2. The breakfast hasn't changed. Card-playing marathon; Nedda and Pat H joined in. Lunch. Some swam, the older folks napped a bit. Mary Beth joined us later in the afternoon. Back to the manager's reception. Sat outside by the pool and listened to "live music" after happy hour each night - it was not unpleasant, but gosh what a gig for the performers ("entry level" minus, I'd say). July 2 was the hottest day in Phoenix in several years (118F). Had a delightful dinner at Roaring Fork - right within walking distance - this place has a wonderful happy hour menu available all evening in summer. The green chile pork stew is the star of the show. Ate PJ's fancy holiday dessert (pictured above), played a bunch more cards, tried to teach Nedda euchre (but I think perhaps she was teaching us).

Checked out Sunday 7/3 after breakfast - just a delightful weekend, and it was v. nice EPG made the road trip.

It happened that Paul Jr. had bought four tickets for a Jeff Bridges concert at the Biltmore hotel in the evening of 7/3 - the music from the movie "Crazy Hearts" was quite fine, and the guy is now releasing an album. So PJ and I attended with he and Nedda; we were in the first row behind the tables thanks to the intercession of someone they knew from Greenberg. Nice setting, nice music, nice evening; Jeff B wasn't really effective at communicating with the audience so that was a small minus. Dinner at Rokerij.

PJ and I appreciated being treated to the hotel and to the concert.

Thanksgiving images (random)

Much enjoyed our Thanksgiving. Typical awesome food primarily courtesy of PJ with big assist from Chris; Rick & Laura & David stopped by for the evening ('twas fun); long weekend of leftovers, football games, visiting; etc.

Top photo: PJ is pretty much an expert at making the "buns" per recipe handed down I suppose from Grandma Bormann (and beyond) to Helen Stella.

Middle photo: package from Rita Zintak: she figured out long ago that AZ desert region lacks traditional fall color (though there are some changes, per here) , and always sends a package of leaves. These end up as part of Thanksgiving centerpiece. Nice! (She takes liberties with our address - Easter missives are addressed to the "Gales Hutch", for example - but this "Turkey Farm" concept was a new one.)

Bottom photo: Friday morning treat (after PJ was long gone to work): apple dumpling, coffee, newspaper (well, the AZ Republic). (Looking at the photo, it strikes me that it's both comfortable and slightly disconcerting to think that that I've been eating off the same stoneware with the same utensils for 30+ years now.)

Elephant Mountain, NBA All Star/Fashion Square, TrenteCinq35

We had an entertaining Valentine's Day weekend.

Went out to Fashion Square mall on Saturday afternoon - Patricia had a return to make, and we were also just poking around. We were surprised at the large number of cars in the parking lot, it being a run-of-the-mill Saturday in an economic downturn. Or so we thought. It turns out that with the NBA All-Star game in town, a big chunk of the attendees were hanging out at the mall. So that gave it a bit different flavor than your normal Arizona/Scottsdale crowd. Magic Johnson was in Nordstrom's in support of his wife's new line of fashion. Etc.

Valentine's dinner at the Belgian restaurant - TrentCinque 35 - the place was packed for once - we are hoping this place thrives, it's small, local, not a chain, delightful. And the Bornem double Abbey ale is not to be missed. For entree I ordered what is touted as a "Flanders favorite" (and I believe it) - beef, apples and prunes braised in a dark Belgian beer.

On Sunday (2/15) the weather was pretty good so we took advantage and finally made our way up to the Spur Cross Ranch - a bit north of Cave Creek, this area was recently bought up and saved, let's say, from developers. Turns out to be a wonderful place for a hike. The trails immediately take you away from the parking lot and other signs of civilization. There is a trail named "Elephant Mountain" - long, lots of up and down, beautiful views, but 6.8 miles total. I wasn't planning to do anything like this, but Patricia kept chugging along and all of a sudden we were finished. We failed to take a camera, so I'm posting someone else's photos. Cave Creek, and views from the back part of the hike.