The Wheels On The Bus Go 'Round and 'Round...

This morning was very exciting...Poppy and I tried a new commute. We left our house and walked up to Sunset. Hopped on the 29 bus and took that to Baker Beach. For those of you who don't know, that's on the opposite side of the Park where we work. Then we hiked to work. I think that was a couple of miles of hiking with some nice hills. Very, very fun!

How much fun is it to see this before you go to work?



So, Seester Kathy and Bro-N-Law had a great time in Cabo San Lucas and evidently, Dad really enjoyed himself at Kasa Kecky. Seester said he can't stop talking about the Very, Very Happy Chicken...and his tooth.

Here's one of the treats they brought us back. How cute are they? Guess who is who (or is it who is whom)? MomJean, help!!



Happy Tuesday!

And so it goes...

After Dad and I watched the Raider's game (he hates the Raider's, FYI), we packed Dad up and bugged-out of Kasa Kecky and headed to McClellan Manor. Nephew Lucas had the day off and his friend, Sam, was there too. I chatted with them for a while. Nephew Lucas showed me the medal he'd won at the Ultimate Championships. He said he hadn't taken it off since he won it. He's so cute!

Nephew Lucas asked how it was having Dad stay with us. I told him it was hard because you have to watch him all time and he's so bored. Since he can't see, he can't really do a lot by himself, especially at our house. You can only watch so many movies in a day. I don't envy Seester Kathy. She's really taken on more than I ever could. Lucas said that Dad seems to get along fine at their house and he has his routine. Anyway, I asked Lucas if he could heat up the soup I made for Dad for his dinner. He said he would and I was on my merry.

Dad said it was really a nice change for him to stay with us. He especially enjoyed our day with the fire pit and spitting the chicken. We figure when he comes to stay every month and the weather is good, we'll be grilling, smoking or spitting something.

Happy Monday!

Last Day With Dad And A Chicken...

Since I can't remember what I write from one day to the next, I'll start with our fire pit...



Not only a fire pit, but a grill and now we have a spit! So Dad and I set off to the store yesterday to get the fixins for spitting a chicken. Now, Poppy wanted a happy chicken so we went to Guerra's and I bought two Very-Very-Happy-Chickens...to the tune of $42! That's right, no Jethro chicken for our maiden-spit-voyage. Although when I told Poppy how much the Very-Very-Happy-Chickens cost, she wasn't Very-Very-Happy.

Here's the Very-Very-Happy-Chicken before she goes to the faar:



With the Very-Very-Happy-Chickens we got season's end of corn on the cob and I picked up some broccoli and had a cauliflower from Seester so I roasted those.

Very-Very-Happy-Chicken, Very-Very-Happy Poppy and Dad:



More Very-Very-Happy Chicken, Poppy and Dad:











And finally...



Not sure what we'll do with Dad today. Might go listen to some music before we take him home.

Happy rainy Sunday!

Day 3...In The Day In The Life Of Dad At The Kecky's

Check out our new dining room light Thomas (not Tomas) installed. Just gorgeous. Of course, Dad doesn't like it and said he'd never have it his house. Said they reminded him of when he was a kid. He just doesn't get our ArtKecko decorating style. Poppy told him "what's old is new again."



That brings me to the chandelier. What a bone-head move we made. We didn't take into account how long the chandelier would be and we do not have high ceilings. Thomas (not Tomas) got it all hung and then said "Are you sure you want it to hang this low cause this is as high as I can get it?"



Thomas (not Tomas) left shortly after that. Can't blame him, I guess.

Last night we headed to the Parkside Tavern. Poppy and I enjoy thei $1 Oyster Happy Hour. I asked Dad if he liked oysters...as soon as the words came from my mouth I knew it was a mistake "OH FOR CHRIST-SAKE, NO, I DON'T LIKE OYSTERS! Then I remembered...Dad won't eat any "bottom crawlers" cause they eat all the garbage of the sea. Go figure.

After Dad had a few Vodka/Tonics in him he loosed up a bit. We went to sit down for dinner. He' already eyed the ribs on the menu and was very happy with his dinner. Once he was done eating, it was time to go...even though Poppy and I weren't done with our wine. Poor Poppy; she's taking notes on how to get through the future with me. I suppose she seems some familiarity in my personality with my Dad's. Whatever!

Once home, Poppy tried to talk Dad into watching Battle Star Galactica or Serenity. Both science fiction shows. He chose Serenity. Didn't last long. He thought it was stupid and went to bed at 9:00.

Happy Saturday!

1.5 Days In The Life Of Dad Down, 2.5 To Go...

Well, after watching The View yesterday, Dad said he would mow our little patch of lawn. It looks very nice. After that, he wanted his lunchable and a soda. Then it was time for a nappy.

After he got up I figured it was movie time until all his other afternoon shows came on...The Fox Network. So I'd lined up all these instant movies to watch on Netflix. Mostly classic westerns and war movies cause Seester Kathy told me he likes the old stuff cause it moves slow enough for him. Turns out, he doesn't like the old stuff. Hurumph! We ended up watching Legends of the Fall. But before doing that he realized he forgot the charger for his hearing aid. So that means we got to watch the movie that I could hear just perfect...from a block away...with the double-payned windows shut.

Poppy has the truck so I couldn't drive over to Seester Kathy's to get the charger, but Niece Ashley will be coming by today to bring it to us. Yay!

For dinner we made Apple Wood smoked BLT's. Somewhere in the middle of that, Dad's crown fell out.



Before lunch today, I walked up to Walgreens to get the cap fix-it kit. I didn't have much faith that this would work...it didn't. Guess he'll be going to the dentist.

Say, let's have an episode of KEEPING UP WITH THE KECKY'S! All the goodies came for my kitchen sink so I finished that yesterday. It's so pretty...that's a soap dispenser on the left.



Okay, I guess I should have rinsed out the sink first for the photo-op.

Thomas (not Tomas), who is Friend-Laurie's-Daughter-Meghan's-Boyfriend is here doing some electrical work for us. We have a task list of about 15 things we want him to do. So far, he installed a timer on the fan in the bathroom. Next up, he's going to hang a three pendant light in the dining room, followed by the antique cast iron chandelier on the landing and then a one pendent light over my butcher block. So exciting!

Check in a little later.

4 Days In The Life Of Dad...

So once a month Poppy and I are taking Dad for the weekend to give Kathy and Darryll a break. Only this first time out, Kathy and Darryll decided to go to Mexico so we've got Dad for four fun-filled days.

Lucky for you the next four days of blog writing will be devoted to Dad's visit. The morning started with him coming up the stairs at 6:30am with a flashlight. He's not very familiar with the house and his vision still hasn't recovered from the stroke so he can't find the light switch. We'd agreed that we'd get up at 7:30 so I'm not sure what went wrong with that.

Dad's morning usually starts with a walk but since it was still dark out, I thought better of that since he's not so steady on his feet. Instead, I gave him his breakfast...a raisinette and a cup of coffee. Once it got light, we set out for the beach with Dexter McLovin (yep, he's staying with us too) and Jax-The-Cheese-Connesewer. Remember how I was thinking about getting another dog? Forget it. I'm not going to do that after this morning's wild walk. We walked along the path by the beach and then came home.

Now we're watching Live with Regis and Kelly. Next up, The View!

Okay, I'm watching The View. Besides the political "banter", Whoopie has a plate of McRibs in front of her. Why, why, why?
More later...

Here's our champion in action...

Let's talk about last night's appetizer...Boss Karen knows how much Poppy and I enjoy the Padron peppers. She was at the farmer's market on Sunday and saw them so picked some up for us. The only way I like to make them is to saute them in olive oil until they get a little crispy then toss with Malden salt. So NOM! The gig with them is that there will be one in ten that is very hot. For some reason, each and everyone of these were very hot. At one point, I looked at Poppy and she had tears rolling down her face. She ended up eating the little ends off of each one. Then she got to the last one and I think I saw steam coming out her ears...she rant to the kitchen for the milk and a Pepcid! So fiery fun!



Bye.