Christmas 2014

December 22-26, 2014

We're all worried about Laura's health this Christmas.  Tom & Nita flew in from Mississippi and David from Oregon to spend the holiday with her. We had a great visit.

Tom, Nita & David were able to get in some beautiful beach time. Nothing like Southern California weather at Christmas:

Christmas Eve Dinner:

On the menu:

Caesar Salad (Prepared by John)

Prime Rib w/ Au Jus

Individual Yorkshire Puddings

Twice Baked Potatoes

Roasted Beets

Sugar Snap Peas w/Prosciutto

Cheesecake w/Strawberry Sauce (Prepared by David, with a little help from Aunt Linda)

A visit with David would not be complete without a pasta-making session:

The Weingartens came to visit the day after Christmas:

Little did we know that this would be our last Christmas with Dad.  He died unexpectedly just 10 short weeks later:

Parade of Lights 2014

December 13, 2014

Dr. Speitel, Pam & adorable William

Our guests:

Teri Burgess, Bill, Pam & William Speitel, Cynthia Couto, Kathy, Dennis & James Zottola

Our menu:

Cheese Platter

Relish Platter - Olives, Peppers, Artichokes, etc.

Roast Beef Sandwiches on Croissants with Bernaise Sauce

Homemade Potato Chips

Molasses Crinkle Cookies

Raspberry Bowtie Cookies

Peppermint Truffles

Homemade Potato Chips (always a hit!)

Thanksgiving/Turkey Trot 2014

November 27, 2014

Lynne & I started Thanksgiving morning off with a Turkey Trot 5K. Great way to not feel so guilty about that big meal.

My biggest supporter:

Thanksgiving Ventura style:

We served a traditional turkey dinner to Dad, Laura, Peter, Lynne and the Zottolas. 

Greeting our guests:

I didn't get any pictures of the food, only of the aftermath:

But by the next morning all was well:

Chris & Olivia's Wedding

November 13, 2014

Chris & Olivia had a small, intimate wedding at the San Francisco City Hall.  The only guests were siblings, parents and two lucky grandparents (that would be us!):

It was a beautiful wedding and we were very happy to be a part of the celebration.  Olivia is beautiful inside and out and welcome her to our family:

The reception was at Hubert Keller's Burger Bar where Selena was working at the time.  Wish I had taken pictures of the delicious food, but here is one of the newlyweds cutting the cake:

Sarah, Jeff & Marco in Ventura

November 8, 2014

Sarah, Jeff & Marco drove down to Ventura to visit for a few days.  We had beautiful weather so we went to the Jolly Oyster at the beach.

Hmmmm, good idea for a Christmas gift for Marco:

We ordered lunch from the Jolly Oyster Food Truck. One of our favorites was the Oyster Tacos:

Back aboard the Poseidon everyone pitched in to make ravioli for dinner:

I fell asleep early and found these pictures on my camera in the morning.  Looks like I missed a good time:

Smugglers

October 17, 2014

Laura's health has really been failing and she's getting close to being on the lung transplant list. When we saw an opportunity to get away on the boat for a few days we jumped at it.  There were only a couple of other boats at anchor and we enjoyed a very quiet and relaxing weekend.

Now this is my kind of paddle-board weather:

The perfect, simple lunch - roast chicken, cucumber & tomato salad and a bottle of Laetitia's bubbly:

Our trip back to Ventura was one of the smoothest rides ever:

Is it even possible to look at a dolphin without smiling?

Jan & George

October 13, 2014

Nothing brightens our day like a visit from Jan & George.  They are living happily in Panama aboard Claire de Lune so we don't get the opportunity to see them often.  When they make it to Ventura one of their favorite stops is always Brophy Brothers in the harbor.

I had the Ahi Poke Salad:

Aunt Katie

August 24, 2014
Aunt Katie was visiting my cousin Doug and his wife Barbara in San Diego and she convinced him to drive up to Ventura for a visit. They all came over for breakfast of Mimosas, Homemade Sourdough Waffles, Bacon and Macedonia.

Laura, Doug, Aunt Katie, Linda, Dad, Barbara

The Cave-Nick's Retirement

August 24, 2014

Nick decided to retire from The Cave and Ventura Wine Store to travel with his wife Jennie.  We've known Nick for almost thirty years and were happy to be part of his celebration dinner.

Each course of the meal was paired with three different wines.  Here's the menu:

• Laetitia Brut Cuvee
• First Course-Salmon confit with saffron butter sauce, balsamic caviar and dill oil paired with chardonnays -- Mer Soleil Silver (unoaked), Orogeny Russian River Valley and Beringer Luminous from Napa Valley.
• Second Course-Sous Vide duck breast, wild mushroom arugula salad and white truffle mustard vinaigrette paired with pinot noirs -- Ten Span-Santa Barbara County, Talbot Logan-Santa Lucia Highlands and Sterling from Caneros.
• Third Course-Braised short rib (breaded and fried) with Moroccan spiced quinoa risotto and coffee glaze paired with zinfandels--Castoro Cellars Zinfusion-Paso Robles, Rosenblum Cellars-Sonoma and Ridge East Bench.
• Fourth Course-Slow roasted herb crusted prime rib with Peruvian purple potatoes and peppercorn cream sauce paired with Cabernet Sauvignons--Justin Vineyards-Paso Robles, Provenance-Rutherford and Rodney Strong Reserve from Sonoma.
• Fifth Course-Dessert-Trio of house made truffles.

With Jennie Fisher