Begin the Countdown to the Vaya Con Dios Blues: Friday, December 28th!

I am not one of those who believe that a great army is the means of maintaining peace, because if you build up a great profession those who form parts of it want to exercise their profession. -Woodrow Wilson, 28th US president, Nobel laureate (28 Nov 1856-1924) 

 
Thank you for your wishes. Happy 2019 to bothoya :-) Hi Brunello! Thank you for the New Year's wishes. Trust your hols were full of celebrations with friends and family. Last two days have been rather lazy and tomorrow will probably start to put away Christmas decorations. Have already taken "Frosty", Dusty's picture we had on front door, down, so at least a small start. I'm hoping Lady Dar will manage to set aside a couple of tubs of all the various decorations that we haven't really used in last few years and pass them along to anyone who might not have much and could use them. Fondestos from Lady Dar and Chloë to you, Brunello and Chooch, and we wish you and family a Healthy New Year! Cheers, Patrizzio!

Photo: Kevin Dooley

Thank you so much -- what a clever card. Hope you enjoyed a great Christmas with friends and family. May the year ahead be a healthy and happy one for you. Lots of love as ever Jo-Anne and Colin Hi Marps, or should I say, BC Book Prizes Advocate! Thank you for the New Year's wishes. Trust your hols were full of celebrations and visits with friends and family. Thanks as well for the Christmas card and lovely note. We are very sorry to hear that Colin's eye problem persists but pleased to know that the Whiskies Advent Calendar has helped. Please tell him that Etta and Duke have left my malt cabinet alone but Lady Dar is none too pleased with El Diablo as he seems to have great good fun knocking her jewelry and makeup off the bathroom counter, often right in front of her, little sauce-pot that he is! Fondestos from Lady Dar and Chloë to you, Jo-Anne and Colin, and we wish you and family a Healthy New Year! Cheers, Patrizzio! Thanks for the update Patrick! Nice to see you have some of the white stuff to shovel during the Holiday Season..Christmas was lovely in Santa Barbara with my daughter,...the two children and three neighbors...went well and as usual...I am always relieved that it's all over and done with..What would everyone do without this commercialized event...?? For sure the economy would suffer more than ever...sorry ...but it is really a fantastic preoccupation for so many!

I like to remember the days when I was a child and it was about decorating the tree the week preceding Christmas and the Christmas pageants and the anticipation for the one gift we got Christmas morning from Santa..
Then all 16 adults and 36 grandchildren packed into someone's small humble home for turkey dinner and games and cards...those were the days!!...
Oh well it is what it is...I tried to keep it fairly simple for my family when they were growing up..but it was still so much for the focus on that one day!
It's nice when I see people focus on family gatherings and friends and carolling... Each to their own

We drove to Sacremento yesterday to be with the other side of the family!..
We are Denae's new place...Adelle's former sister-in-law ..kids are cousins of similar age. We will be here until Sunday and are going to some winter wonderland. She has this huge house now with 12 rooms plus 4 full bathrooms and every room has a Christmas scene display. I think you would love to be here with your camera so I will take pictures and send to you. Denae is obviously very much into Christmas as is her mother..Looks like a home for the Better Homes Magazine...picture perfect!...

Anyway Life goes on ..Looks like I will be home before the end of January..
I will start heading back North in mid January..stop at Morro Bay or Santa Cruz for a few days then at my son's in San Francisco...then onwards home. I miss being in my own surroundings although the arrangements at my daughters have worked surprisingly well with only 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. I have been using the hideabed which is very comfortable. My daughter plans on taking some prerequisite courses to eventually get her nursing degree...she needs to get focused for that and better for her to be doing this without me hanging around. Although I help her a lot around the house and yard...better she figures a routine on her own. She's doing well..so I feel she's got it under control. Well hopefully get some outings with the hiking group..get my snowshoes and poles out All the Best to you both..Cheers🙏 Elle

Hi Sacramento Girl! Pleased to hear all goes so well with your visit and your daughter. We don't really know Sacramento although we have passed through it many, many times, most often en route to Placerville, for wine-tasting in El Dorado and Amador Counties, or else going to LA. Simply gorgeous country towards Tahoe. We are more familiar with Morro Bay as, in the past, we wine-tasted regularly near San Luis Obispo. Often drove HWY 1 from SF south, and north, through Santa Cruz, staying there and wine-tasting as well. Have very close friends in Berkeley so we often take BART into SF for the day. Last year, a few days before New Year's I did just that, with my bike, getting off the train at Embarcadero to ride over the Golden Gate, returning by ferry from Tiburon.

Funny you should mention Better Homes and Gardens as Ayn, our eldest, has cousins in Simi Valley, just north of LA, and we have done a number of house-sitting stints for them as well as often having Christmas Day dinner at their place if we are down in LA for holiday. One year I had to go with husband to their storage locker, which they had to rent to store their decorations, [At the time they lived in a huge place, similar to how you describe Denae's new home.], to retrieve the artificial tree which could easily have been used in some giant mall and untold boxes of seasonal decorations and ornaments! Lovely people but far too, too much space and "stuff" for me. Less is More as far as I'm concerned. Also agree with how commercialized Christmas has become. Had to laugh, sadly, a week or so ago when we were in Kelowna to do a bit of last minute shopping at Costco as well as looking for a few small gifts and noticed, in one of the malls, a sign announcing that Boxing Day Sale was already on!

Fondestos from Lady Dar and Chloë to you, Murielle, and we wish you and family a Healthy New Year! Cheers, Patrizzio! Pics: Front sidewalk, yesterday, before I shoveled it. After, this morning! Roads are mostly clear and dry but more snow is supposed to start soon, and heavily so!

Hi again, Trevorino! Just a quick note to say that when I sent along last few messages I realized that I had not commented on your Mum and the nursing home. Quite a coincidence about the same room! Sorry to learn of her recent fall and fracture but I'm sure she has good reason to be worried about her son!

Chloë just popped in, shivering from the icy wind, blowing snowflakes everywhere. She and Lady Dar are off to look at rugs at Teas and Weaves, a local shop that has an incredible inventory of quite colourful, and reasonably priced rugs, from India and elsewhere. We have a large runner, from them, between the island and the sink counter. It used to be in the hallway to my office before the renovations but works very well in its new spot. [One we had at The Island Inn is too long for this space, unfortunately and it doesn't meet Chloë's interior design colours! Corinne will see if Ayn might like it for her new place when she is there in early March. If so, we'll mule it down next time we drive.] Over the last two years we have given Chloë gift certificates to store, for birthdays, etc., and the like, so she has about $400 to use. Must away as want to split a bit more firewood before snow really sets in. Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizzio! Pic: Chloë carried the sleepy boy into living room and he settled down here after they left!

Hi again, Jean! Thank you for the gorgeous card and heartfelt wishes. Fondestos from the Mexican Sand Piper to you, Jean and John, and both of us wish you a Healthy New Year! Cheers, Patrizzio!

thank you for the beautiful card! Very kind of you! We were all up in apex for Christmas, five peoples swished into a one bedroom, ha, maybe next year Corene has the right idea, mexico! at oliver working now but in new year at apex snowshoeing and skiing, give me a shout and come on up! HAPPY NEW YEAR Hi Apex Folk! Glad you enjoyed card. Sounds like an orgy on the slopes with 5 people "swishing" into one bedroom! I will certainly give you call as I'd love to visit fancy chalet people, even if you only have one bedroom! I thought you were supposed to be retired, Judy! Fondestos from the Mexican Sand Piper to you, Judy and James, and both of us wish you a Healthy New Year! Cheers, Patrizzio! Thanks Patrick see you soon I do a lot of downhill skiing as well so looking forward to new snow!

Dear Sir Pat and Lady Dar. Thanks for a lovely card and sweet Xmas music. Now at Camelot Castle and all well. Lovely guests and weather good considering it is winter. Patricia's talk went well and much appreciated. Food better. Quality not so good earlier on. Hope all well at your end and be in touch. Love Sir James and Lady Patrizzia. Hello Camelot Castle Fancy People! Pleased as punch that you are enjoying your visit and that Lady Patrizzia's talk went so well. We'd have loved to have been in the audience but the closest we came was to watch the Christmas Special of Call the Midwife!  How many fabulous paintings have you purchased? Travel safely and stay well. Fondestos from Lady Dar to you both, Lady Patrizzia and Sir James, and we wish you a Healthy New Year! Cheers, Patrizzio!