Hi, Girl, are you ‘back to normal’? Hope all is well in your own little paradise!

forward one-and-a-half somersaults, pike position, wee bit of splash but less than last week. pike is easier for sure than that tuck position i tried last week

g’evening pups — how’s everyone doing tonight?

hey dearie — how was your day with the grandbabies? i’m feeling like i was last week :)

Beautiful sunny California day here. Lovely belated Fathers Day dinner with my dad and brother at Lucky’s in Montecito. Fun….. and extremely delicious. Pricey, but a wonderful treat. We all had a great time.

nice sunny day up here too. i putzed around the house today. what did you have for dinner?

Well, it’s so fun to take my dad out to dinner….. in appreciation for all the times he took us out to dinner when we were young. Lovely drive through parts of Santa Barbara first…. just looking….so pretty. My dad couldn’t believe what my brother and I were saying about the price of houses….but, hey, who wouldn’t want to live in SB?! Then to Lucky’s … which is the premier steak joint. We had cocktails and talked sports and politics and had lots of laughs. Then steaks and creamed spinach and wonderful fresh British Columbia oysters and salads and stuff. Long and leisurely dinner with much chit chat. Good times! My treat this time. Lovely to be able to do this.

sounds yummy! what a wonderful celebration dearie

Now, I’m confused. Were you going to get Token today, or is that tomorrow? We will all feel cozied once Token comes home!

i’ve gone back and read mary mac’s lln threads wed and thur nite — she sure did a fantastic job hosting!

tomorrow. wanted his first night home to be one where i can devote my attention to him and not the computer. sure am looking forward to getting my little guy again

Good evening, Suzanne!

Indeed, mary mac did a great job! And you are so thoughtful to bring Token home when you can really spend time with him. Enjoy!

teddy! how ya doing dood?

Hey Suzanne! Can’t wait to see you have Token at home.

i’ve been hoping to see her fonts so i can publically sing her praises and give thanks. hope she’s off visiting her daughter and baby grandson. isn’t her other grandson due in august?

hey ce — how’s cleveland tonight?

Mary mac has joined grandparental bliss! First grandbabyboy is adorable… and another coming along so soon is delightful. Well, you know grandparentalbliss!

The weather is fine — just what one would think –72-80 temps. MrCE painted the back of the house, and I chopped brush for two hours. I’m exhausted.

i sure do! tis a wonderful thing to see jujube’s face light up with delight when she sees me walk in. every time she raises her arms in the classic ‘up’ request, i melt a little bit more…

yay for fine weather! a busy day around the ce household! the lawn dood was here today and mowed the grass. i sure love the smell of a freshly mown lawn.

I have to laugh: my sister and I were beginning to wonder if our kids would ever have babies for us to adore……and then, within 5 years there were 7 grandbabies to coo over. Heavenly!

i was 22 almost 23 when i had jen and she was 33 when she had jules. so many kids are having those first babies older than my generation was.

Good evening, Suz. Hi Dearie and CE, good to see you. Nice dive, Suz, hardly a splash.

hey past — how’s utah tonight? thanks dood

Hi past…..what’s up?

A pleasant 78 degrees here. Was in the mid 90′s and humid (for Utah) today.

humid is never good when combined with hot. tis down to 65 here after a day in the mid 70′s

Just winding down, ’twas a very busy week protesting. ALEC had their 39th annual conference here.

And…my dad’s tomato plants have gone wild! Anyone have any terrific tomato sauce recipes? And thanks to nonquixote and whoever else recommended the Stupice tomatoes…. delish! My dad’s preference is Jetsetters. His two plants and the Stupice he planted for me are bearing fruit wonderfully. So good to just munch on…..but so many right now that I’m going to have to make some sauce of them.

Thank you, thank you for protesting ALEC. I’ve started a little fund to provide airfare and lodging when the first gazillion citizen march is called. My pitchfork is honed.

I’m jealous. Our tomatoes are still green.

last year, my former downstairs neighbor gave me a jar of some great tomato sauce she put up. she said it was just tomatoes and basil. that sauce was so bright and fresh tasting. just as great by itself as it was a base for adding flavor layers. don’t know what kinda tomatoes they were — she had been down at her grandparent’s farm in the central valley and brought back a buncha produce.

I think that’s the trick….. just simple and retaining flavor. I think I’ll try slow roasting some of the tomatoes, too. They are just so delicious.

My dad doesn’t understand the appeal of green tomatoes, and I keep telling him that he may NOT pull out the vines and toss the green tomatoes before I get a chance at ‘em. I love fried green tomatoes. And they can also be made into sauces and pickles.

Nothing like a neighbor who cans. And nothing like a neighbor with fresh tomatoes!

So excited the little fellah’s coming to his new home tomorrow, Suz!

are greens any good for stuffing and baking?

i can’t believe its been almost 6 forking months, teddy. the last time we slept under the same roof was jan 30th.

I don’t know……where’s Larue??? I’d sure be willing to try. I’ve mostly only fried them, and I do love them that way.

Edit: I wonder if they’d be wonderful stuffed with ground beef and herbs and such.

yeah, where’s larue and/or kelly c — they would know *hands on hips*

Lost my edit: but I’m wondering if green tomatoes would be wonderful stuffed with ground beef and herbs and spices….maybe some cheese, too. Yum.

evening, Suzzzz, firegods

And then the edit showed up. Such wonder is our amazing internets….. which my brother and father told me tonight was actually developed by Xerox.

i see it — its there….. i saw an alton brown recently where he stuffed with 3 diff kinds of chopped mushrooms and some panko and cheese

hey ppd — how ya doing tonight?

Thanks for the suggestion! We’re going to have plenty of green tomatoes. The vines are starting to be stressed, and there are still many tomatoes on the vines. I brought home several pounds of wonderfully ripe tomatoes this evening, which is why I said I’m going to have to make sauce. I love tomatoes, but I can’t eat ‘em all. I keep telling my dad to share them with his lady friends at “the home”….. but I think he doesn’t want to encourage too much interaction. Like maybe they would invite him over for dinner or something. It’s one thing to go to the restaurant at the place together every night, but it’s way more something else to be invited to someone’s apartment. Ya know!

tired — another training ride this afternoon for next week’s Marin Century

tomatoes are doing well this year — last year, nuthin’ on the central coast

how did it go? are you happy with your times considering you didn’t ride for so long?

Suzanne, just one more funny about the baby boys. When I made dinner for them last night I offered them home made meatballs and linguine with marinara sauce. Neither of them wanted the red sauce. I said, “Well, would you like just olive oil and parmesan?” They both agreed, “Yes, gramma, just olive oil.” They gobbled the meatballs (that were heated up in red sauce) and remarked on the linguine with olive oil. “Yum.” God love ‘em!

mixed training of 100 to 150 miles per week — some speed work, some hill climbing, lots of base miles — to get back in condition. I’m ready for next week’s challenging pleasure ride. It’s not a race.

bet they love bread dipped in olive oil, garlic and balsamic too

i’m sorry, i was thinking it was a race. pleasure rides are just that — a pleasure. what’s going to be the most challenging section in the marin century?

Suz, I’m sure you’ve heard already, but just in case…. there were some lovely things said about you at PUAC this a.m. Read through when you get a chance. Hugs!

They love dipping anything and everything. If I had one clue for new parents, it would be…..give the kids great foods and dips to dip into. The kids have always eaten anything that they could dip.

i did not know about that. i’ll be sure to go over and take a look. thanks dearie

And, dear one, Rest Up for your drive tomorrow for your reunion with Token.

Lovely evening at the Lake. Thanks for hosting, Suzanne.

tis my pleasure dearie — oh my stars, i’m blushing at what was said at puac…. thank you for letting me know about it.

good nite, Suz, sleep well and have a great day tomorrow! good nite, everyone.

g’nite past

You are a treasure…. and a fine diver, too! Enjoy.

tis about time for me to head out and, as dearie said, rest up for my trip tomorrow. thanks so much for letting me spend some time with ya tonight.

wonder what tut has up his sleeve for sun and mon?

g’nite all

No problem, Suzzz —

Some of the routes are brutal, like the 200 mile Double Century course with 15,000 feet of climbing. We’re riding the Metric Century 62 miles with nearly 4,000 feet of climbing.

Good Morning Suzanne,

Glad to hear Token is coming to his new home and back with you. I get in here to read your posts and follow during the day once in a while, I am busy with a lot of things, a little bit of paying work even, but my activity level has me nicely tired and off to bed by 10 PM here and I’m usually up with first light after a solid 6-7 hour undisturbed sleep. Must be doing me some good, I am a solid twenty pounds lighter and maintaining for over two months now. LLN is always uplifting, even when late to the show. All the best with your reunion, hope the little four-legger likes his new digs.

thanks dood — token is chillin’ on the sofa, head on ‘his’ pillow and this place finally feels like home :)