Just a quick birthday message as it is now officially Dec 1st where you are right now.
Hope you have a great day on your birthday - even though I know that you are really most looking forwar to our breakfast date on Thursday morning.
Love you loads,
C & M
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
On Thanksgiving
It was a good day. Relaxation and M & Cornflake time in the morning, followed by some Yoga and then it was nearly time to get started on the stuffing. In did my usual recipe and then mixed things up a little with some breadcrumbs made from leftover sourdough bread and some various spices from the cupboard.
Finder was at The Leons and when we arrived pretty much everything was ready to go - two kinds of turkey, ham, zucchini casserole from Janie, beans, mashed potatoes, sweetcorn, more stuffing, salad and bread rolls. It was delicious. Of course there were also ample desserts - pumpkin pie, carrot cake, hurricane cake, etc. that we were almost too full to eat. But somehow we managed to squeeze a little bit in.
Lastly we did the new traditional Xmas decoration exchange. Michelle and Lizz forgot to bring theirs and so printed or drew artistic impressions of what they might look like in real life. I think Janie won in the most elaborate contribution stakes with her battery-operated color-changing globe thingy. That said, they all seemed to be pretty nice decorations this year - even the polar bear one wasn't horrible.
At the end of the evening we were joined back home by James and Mark Anthony who promptly disappeared into the guesthouse to play Xbox. It's 10:30am now and we haven't seen them yet.
Big thanks to Rita, Bill, Matthew and Meleena for hosting us all this year.
Finder was at The Leons and when we arrived pretty much everything was ready to go - two kinds of turkey, ham, zucchini casserole from Janie, beans, mashed potatoes, sweetcorn, more stuffing, salad and bread rolls. It was delicious. Of course there were also ample desserts - pumpkin pie, carrot cake, hurricane cake, etc. that we were almost too full to eat. But somehow we managed to squeeze a little bit in.
Lastly we did the new traditional Xmas decoration exchange. Michelle and Lizz forgot to bring theirs and so printed or drew artistic impressions of what they might look like in real life. I think Janie won in the most elaborate contribution stakes with her battery-operated color-changing globe thingy. That said, they all seemed to be pretty nice decorations this year - even the polar bear one wasn't horrible.
At the end of the evening we were joined back home by James and Mark Anthony who promptly disappeared into the guesthouse to play Xbox. It's 10:30am now and we haven't seen them yet.
Big thanks to Rita, Bill, Matthew and Meleena for hosting us all this year.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
From Fire to Premium Fire!
I popped out for my morning visit to 7-Eleven in search of a pick-me-up to kick off my day and workout efforts and noticed that right next to the little cans of Fire (see blog from earlier in the week) there were also some different cans labelled as Fire - Premium Blend.
So, although regular old Fire was plenty Fire-y for me when I tried it the other day, I decided that I'm a Premium Blend kind of guy and bought the latter instead.
Perhaps there's a moral to this story as, having just drank it, I'm not sure I can tell the difference though.
Disclaimer: the moral to this story can not legitimately be applied to the purchase of Hi-Fi Equipment or Cars.
So, although regular old Fire was plenty Fire-y for me when I tried it the other day, I decided that I'm a Premium Blend kind of guy and bought the latter instead.
Perhaps there's a moral to this story as, having just drank it, I'm not sure I can tell the difference though.
Disclaimer: the moral to this story can not legitimately be applied to the purchase of Hi-Fi Equipment or Cars.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Mochi Party
I decided to go for a walk up to Roppongi this afternoon, check out a couple of stores and generally get some fresh air in between my conference call fun and games of the day.
So, armed with my trusty iPod playing Anita Baker and a borrowed umbrella from the hotel doorman (it's raining on and off here at the moment) I wandered next door to Starbucks and then off up the street to Roppongi. First I to Tsutaya, the book/cd store I used to hang around in when I was spending lots of time here in 2008, browsed some interesting books for a bit and then noticed an interesting sounding museum exhibit that was being shown at MidTown - about 10 minutes walk back the other side of Roppongi Crossing and eminently achievable.
On my way back I passed a small shrine where they were serving something edible to a bunch of local people. One of the guys saw me glancing over and invited me in to try it. I turned out that they had been making fresh Mochi (like the rabbit in the moon does) with various toppings and they generously gave me some. I think they were surprised that I was so willing to try it, intrigued with my Japanese (I'm pretty good at pretending I know what people are saying now) and spent alot of time trying to tell me what it was and watching me eat it. Of course, I'd tried it before but never so freshly prepared - they were serving it with sweetened soy beans, a toasted sesame and salt topping, green onions and vinegar (nasty sounding but delicious) and some other powdery topping that I couldn't figure out. It was really quite an experience and it seemed like I made their day and that of the other locals that were there. I did my bit and made a donation to the shrine and then thanked them before heading back on my way to the way having had a great experience.
The museum, though, was boring. I say that only because it was very busy and the art was actually magazines and other publications from 18th century Edo (the former name of Tokyo) and because there was a lot of writing the local people in there were taking ages to move around the exhibits because they could actually read what they said. I just skipped those and looked at the cool paintings and wood block prints of period actors and prostitutes.
After that it was back out into the mall for a bit of shopping before heading back to the hotel, by way of a cafe - it was 3pm so time for dinner! - and here I am. I have a conference call with my team in 30 minutes during which I will pretend not to be tired and show enthusiasm for everyone that we talk about and then I will begin winding down at 5:30; which, coincidentally is when the lounge opens and I can get a free Gin & Tonic.
Or perhaps it will be a Martini...
So, armed with my trusty iPod playing Anita Baker and a borrowed umbrella from the hotel doorman (it's raining on and off here at the moment) I wandered next door to Starbucks and then off up the street to Roppongi. First I to Tsutaya, the book/cd store I used to hang around in when I was spending lots of time here in 2008, browsed some interesting books for a bit and then noticed an interesting sounding museum exhibit that was being shown at MidTown - about 10 minutes walk back the other side of Roppongi Crossing and eminently achievable.
On my way back I passed a small shrine where they were serving something edible to a bunch of local people. One of the guys saw me glancing over and invited me in to try it. I turned out that they had been making fresh Mochi (like the rabbit in the moon does) with various toppings and they generously gave me some. I think they were surprised that I was so willing to try it, intrigued with my Japanese (I'm pretty good at pretending I know what people are saying now) and spent alot of time trying to tell me what it was and watching me eat it. Of course, I'd tried it before but never so freshly prepared - they were serving it with sweetened soy beans, a toasted sesame and salt topping, green onions and vinegar (nasty sounding but delicious) and some other powdery topping that I couldn't figure out. It was really quite an experience and it seemed like I made their day and that of the other locals that were there. I did my bit and made a donation to the shrine and then thanked them before heading back on my way to the way having had a great experience.
The museum, though, was boring. I say that only because it was very busy and the art was actually magazines and other publications from 18th century Edo (the former name of Tokyo) and because there was a lot of writing the local people in there were taking ages to move around the exhibits because they could actually read what they said. I just skipped those and looked at the cool paintings and wood block prints of period actors and prostitutes.
After that it was back out into the mall for a bit of shopping before heading back to the hotel, by way of a cafe - it was 3pm so time for dinner! - and here I am. I have a conference call with my team in 30 minutes during which I will pretend not to be tired and show enthusiasm for everyone that we talk about and then I will begin winding down at 5:30; which, coincidentally is when the lounge opens and I can get a free Gin & Tonic.
Or perhaps it will be a Martini...
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Fire
Upon arriving in Tokyo last night - long, boring flight, busy airport, busy roads, grumpy Craig - I did my usual visit to 7-Eleven for the inevitable early wake-up/jetlag situation.
Part of that ritual of late has been the purchase of a couple of Silky Black (aka Rocket Fuel) coffee drinks to help get me going for my workout. So, imagine my disappointment to find that they didn't have any at all. In fact, it seems like they have completely re-jigged their stocking of chilled coffees completely. As I glanced around trying to see if they had moved it elsewhere my eyes happened to settle on this product that I hadn't seen before.
I have just consumed it and am about to start the Core Synergistics workout that I am hoping it will help me out with. I'll let you know how it goes as that will determine whether I bring some home with me on Wednesday.
Part of that ritual of late has been the purchase of a couple of Silky Black (aka Rocket Fuel) coffee drinks to help get me going for my workout. So, imagine my disappointment to find that they didn't have any at all. In fact, it seems like they have completely re-jigged their stocking of chilled coffees completely. As I glanced around trying to see if they had moved it elsewhere my eyes happened to settle on this product that I hadn't seen before.
I have just consumed it and am about to start the Core Synergistics workout that I am hoping it will help me out with. I'll let you know how it goes as that will determine whether I bring some home with me on Wednesday.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Now Accepting Reservations
Following extensive exterior renovations and landscaping during the course of this year, the UlloaSullivan International Wedding and Party Resort in Kingsburg, California is now accepting reservations for the Spring/Summer Season.
With the pool, major landscaping and firepit area completed we will be moving on to phase 2 in the spring which will include the outdoor kitchen/bbq areas and a few improvements to the guest/poolhouse in time for the start of the 2011 season.
The UlloaSullivan Wedding and Party Resort is THE place to take your vacation and/or celebrate that special occasion in your life. Let us know when you want to party!
With the pool, major landscaping and firepit area completed we will be moving on to phase 2 in the spring which will include the outdoor kitchen/bbq areas and a few improvements to the guest/poolhouse in time for the start of the 2011 season.
The UlloaSullivan Wedding and Party Resort is THE place to take your vacation and/or celebrate that special occasion in your life. Let us know when you want to party!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
From Vancouver
Just a quick update from Vancouver Airport while we wait to board the flight back to San Francisco.We had a great time up here for the weekend - hanging out with Bethany (M's former student) in Fort Langley on Friday afternoon, catching the mis-named movie 'Unstoppable' (spoiler alert: they do eventually stop the train) at the Collussus movie theater in Langley before ending the day with some great Martinis and Singapore Slings and a snack at the hotel bar that night.
Saturday saw us meeting up with Bethany and her boyfriend Clayton for lunch on Saturday, followed by Scrabble and Bananagram playing in the foyer at the hotel, then the Harbour Seaplane Flight (very cool indeed), dinner at Joe Forte's, and then wrapping the day at the Improv Theatre on Granville Island.
I've now uploaded some additional pictures from our main camera which you can see on the Flickr site. In the meantime, below is a video of the take-off in the Seaplane as filmed by M.
Vancouver is beautiful - we'll be coming back here to do some more exploring in the future, me thinks!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Happy Birthday Rita
Better late than never - my excuse being that I didn't have a recent photo of you to use yesterday I didn't think you would want me to use the one of you taking the Tequila shots from a couple of few years ago - we wanted to wish you a very happy birthday.
Hope you had a great weekend and you REALLY enjoyed it when Bill took you to places you'd never been to before. ;)
Love,
C & M
P.S. Looking forward to the Beef Bourguignon. :)
Hope you had a great weekend and you REALLY enjoyed it when Bill took you to places you'd never been to before. ;)
Love,
C & M
P.S. Looking forward to the Beef Bourguignon. :)
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
UPDATED: What the heck?
UPDATE: Thanks to Johnny and his mad, college-trained, researching skills we can now share with you the good news that this wasn't a member of an advance alian recon party but instead was a member of the race known as Jerusalem Crickets. You can read more about them here. I have to say, though, that knowing they are of-this-world doesn't really make me feel any more comfortable about encountering a live one.
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I continue to be amazed by the various fauna that we encounter here at Chez UlloaSullivan. After a little more than a decade living in California I am still in awe of the Hummingbirds that visit our yard and the Eagles that soar above the mountains on my commute to the Bay Area. I marvel at the tenacity of the Gophers that consistently argue for tennants rights by leaving little mounds of dirt where they feel they should be allowed to dwell and the confidence of the family of toads that live somewhere outside our front door who seem to be completely unbothered by Cornflake's coming and going (the lizards, on the other hand are total losers and regularly get caught and/or lose their tails).
However, there are some creatures that defy my ability to be amazed by them simply because I can't quite believe they exist at all. Take this thing that I spotted lying dead near our rubbish bins the other night. It looks like it might be related to the grasshopper family except that it doesn't have any wings (that I can see) and is substantially chunkier in the body and head and therefore probably wouldn't be able to fly for long, if at all.
I hope there aren't many more of them coming, though. It's all well and good having small insects get squished on your windshield/windscreen while driving on or around the legal speed limit but I'm not sure how well you would fare if you drove through a swarm of these things. Particurlarly if they were better prepared and wearing their alien armor suits and toting little alien weapons like in the movies.
It could happen. This is America, after all. The place where dreams can come true. Just hopefully not the dreams of insect-like alien invaders.
Happy Birthday Kim and Ev...
... but not Christina (you'll be getting plenty of attention real soon).
Hope you have a great day and looking forward to being a part of it at Salazar's this evening.
Many Happy Returns,
C&M
P.S. Was looking for a pic of your Halloween costumes from Sat but can't find one... please forward for the 'collection'. :)
Hope you have a great day and looking forward to being a part of it at Salazar's this evening.
Many Happy Returns,
C&M
P.S. Was looking for a pic of your Halloween costumes from Sat but can't find one... please forward for the 'collection'. :)