Post-Easter update

My sister Jackie and her husband Martin had the family to their house for Easter, and it was a lovely day. My brothers Mike and Alan and their families, and our sister Jayne and her husband Bernie, plus Tiffany and Caroline and their boy Elijah, and Nicole and Luke, who will be married in June, and a host of other loved ones were there. There was much good food, and champagne, and lots of laughs and warm feelings. We missed Lynette, who was in Kentucky with her sister, dealing with things that their mother left behind when she passed away in December. It wasn't the same without her.

Part of the fun on Easter was watching the final round of the Masters, with Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods fighting their own contest, playing in a twosome together, four or five strokes behind the leaders. Both of them made a strong fight to overtake the top spot, but they both ran into trouble and fell short of the lead. It was still very exciting to watch. Kris, Al, Mike, Martin and I had a good time, going from the tv in the living room to the food and good company in the kitchen and on the patio.

The next day, Al and I went to spend some time with Mike at the timeshare resort in Aneheim where he, Kim and Aaron were staying over the Easter weenend. (Their older son, David, stayed home because of work commitments. We missed him, too.) Mike made lunch for Al and me, and we all had fun playing ping pong and catching up with each other. Al and I had stopped for a few minutes in Laguna Beach on our way to Aneheim from Jackie and Martin's where we had spent the night, just to have a quick look at the ocean. The day was gorgeous, and our short visit was more than worth the detour.

That evening I drove Elijah home to Los Feliz, and he and I got to know each other a little better. We are good pals now. I watched him for a little bit the next morning, waiting for Jackie to drive up from the O.C., and we got even better acquainted. He now knows my name and calls me Dan. When it was time for me to go, Jackie said "bye-bye, Dan" and Elijah said "No bye-bye Dan." He didn't want me to leave, which was very touching. He is a great kid and I had a great time with him. I look forward to more time with him, now that we are such good buds.

That was a week ago now. Lynette came home on Wednesday, and we have had a quiet few days together. On Saturday we went to the new farmers' market at the Americana in Glendale, which was very nice. We bought a loaf of nice bread and a few other things, including a very tasty pear and peach tart. Mmmm!

Saturday night was the 70th birthday party for Kris's mother-in-law Sally, at a nice place in Whittier. We had a great time. Again, lots of our family as well as lots and lots of Sally's - brothers and sisters and all their kids and grandkids. It was put on by Diana and Henry, Sally's children, and was very nice. A few tears were shed during the slide show, which included photos of Sally's late husband Henry, who was beloved by all of us. But soon there was music and dancing, and the mood got happier. It was especially nice to see our friend Triana, whom we hadn't spent any time with for several years. She is doing well, has a young son and a handsome husband, and looks fabulous!

Yesterday Lynette and I decided that we would go to New York for our anniversary, which is April 29th. It's our 31st. We booked the flight and the hotel, and are excited about it. We leave on the 29th and come home on May 4th. It will be fun, and we will get to spend time with Emily. We called her and she is excited that we are coming. She and Abigail are busy, as usual. They are planning on seeing a "This American Life" show on Thursday, which will be fun. We have lots of things we want to see and do...theater, museums, gardens, and just walking in the Big Apple.

That's it for now. I did a little minor plumbing this morning (a leaky faucet in the back yard) and now I'm off to the gym. More soon!