The Merrill’s New Year’s Eve bash was a lot of fun, even though Paul was in the midst of a 6-month teetotaler experience.  We enjoyed great food, a lot of laughs and some dancing until the wee hours of the morning.

Uncle Paul and Little (Michael) had a wonderful day on Little’s 10^th birthday.  We had delicious buuuurrrrrrrrgers at Henry’s and played golf at Cattail.  Then, we made it (a little late) to Little’s birthday party at his home.

Dianna and I enjoyed seeing Earth (a movie about the miracle of life on this planet) with Koko Head, Little, Raspy, Austin and deMichael.

Dianna and I celebrated Trev-man’s 16^th birthday!  I tried to lift him over my head like I used to when he was a child, but only got part of the way.  What a fine young man Trev has grown to be.

Marph, Jess and Jason came to the Bay Area with Dianna to visit SF and Napa.  We stayed at the Parc 55 Hotel downtown, did the tourist thing (Lombard Street, Coit Tower, Pier 39, Fisherman’s Warf, Little Italy, Presidio, Golden Gate Park, Cliff House, Haight Ashbury.)  After a fine meal at Caesar’s, they took a cable car straight up and down Mason Street.  We met up with mom, Gary, Jason, Cris and Jordan at Napa, enjoying Mondavi, Grgich Hills, Domaine Chandon (for lunch) and Rutherford Hills.  They also enjoyed a Vicente Fernandez concert at the Cow Palace.  Jason and Cris made a delicious brunch for them while Paul jetted off to Tokyo and Seoul for Green Plug.

Upon returning from Asia, Dianna met me and we had a fun weekend staying at the Embassy Suites in Burlingame.  We flew to Phoenix for Paul to present a whitepaper to the IEEE Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technology and we had a fun dinner with the Wulfert’s at Z Tejas and we planned a CO vacation for them to come visit!  After dinner we almost got blown away like the house in the Wizard of Oz in a quick rainstorm.

Click here for info on OR2009 in Moab.

 Chef Nic prepared an extraordinary 11-course meal for 30 of us to celebrate my 50^th birthday.  On the menu was:

1. A delicious cheese platter

2. Crab cakes with horseradish aioli and chipotle aioli

3. Mussels and clams

4. Pan-seared red snapper on a cannellini bean ragu with lemon-butter-caper sauce and a jalapeno jam garnish

5. Poached halibut using the juice from the mussels and clams

6. Garlic-infused, rosemary and thyme-rubbed rib-eye roast

7. Mashed potatoes

8. Salad with vinaigrette dressing

9. Mini-bell peppers stuffed with brown rice, sausage and bacon

10. Green beans in a bay chamelle sauce

11. Crème brulee. 

Watching his knife buzz through the food while chopping garlic, peppers and onions was thrilling.  It sounded like a machine gun tapping against the cutting board and the resulting slices and dices were as thin or small as could be.  Several friends and family were able to enjoy the feast and party afterwards.  Nic made a delicious sangria and margaritas for all to enjoy.  Having captured the day on video, even though Nic cooked all 11 meals in parallel, I was able to edit each meal being prepared as a unit and am having fun trying to reproduce them.  Thanks Nic!

Dianna rented a cabin in Estes Park and we had a wonderful dinner at Mary’s Lake Lodge, in the Chalet Room.  Afterwards, we watched Cadillac Man and had a cozy night together in the mountains.  In the morning, we drove Trail Ridge Road (the highest contiguously paved road in North America) taking photos and heading above treeline.  Before heading back down the mountain, we watched Caddyshack. 

Gary threw and extraordinary 50th birthday party for Dianna and me.  Jason took over 300 pictures of the celebration (http://pnd4ever.shutterfly.com.)  F5A and Karen had a great rouse and I was completely surprised!  Thank you to all that have shared the first half century with Dianna and me.

Dianna and I threw a party for Koko Head and Benny Bear’s 6^th Birthday, on July 4^th, 2009.  Everyone enjoyed the Slip and Slide, piñata, stick the tail on the donkey and balloon races.

Gogo’s birthday dinner was a lot of fun and Vica and her family were visiting to add to the celebration.  The menu included baked brie, shrimp scampi, crab cioppino, marinated rib-eye roast and sautéed veggies.   Dianna and I had a romantic get-away to Alps Boulder Canyon Inn and dinner at L’Atelier for Dianna’s 50th birthday.

Vern and Debra made a 2-wheel 4,000 mile trek this summer and visited with us.  We had such a good time enjoying the great food and wine at Trattoria Monaco.  Next day we toured Loveland's sculpture park and hiked Lory State Park with a beautiful view of Horsetooth Lake.  Then we toured the microbreweries in Ft. Collins and enjoyed a scotch sampler at Stonehouse, a Scottish restaurant.  On Sunday, Deb cooked a delicious pesto sauce and I barbecued London Broil - one with a rub of cumin seed, paprika, cayenne pepper, chili pepper, onion powder, parsley, garlic and celery salt, and the other with a teriyaki-sesame marinade.   We look forward to another visit soon.

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