Spreading Happiness

Michael came home sick. He thought it was allergies but I think it is a huge, nasty cold. We still went by our neighbor's Joe and Leslie's house for an hour to visit and listen to some Irish Fiddling, which was so much fun. The singer was adorable and the old Irish songs were hilarious! From there, we drove through the new tunnel to the restaurant right on the ocean. There was a nice 12-piece band playing, a singer who sounded like Sinatra, a girl singer and the owner's son also joined in. It was fun. Michael gave the owner a bottle of the now impossible to get "Alchemist" bourbon, we ate some crab, William had a smoked trout salad and garlic bread. We fell into bed around 11PM.

Earlier, William and I met my former student and now friend Michael and his mom Dolores for breakfast at an old creamery in Palo Alto. Adorable. Delicious. Michael and William remembered each other when William would come to the school. He is transitioning into his PhD program and is beginning to understand the processes. It was marvelous to spend some time with them both. As William said afterwards, "What truly nice people!" Amen.

After breakfast, William and I went into the fancy new Apple store on University Avenue in Palo Alto. William bought a new airport for me and iTunes gift card for my sister and her husband. But, after four cups of coffee and two glasses of water, I needed a restroom! A nice Apple guy "escorted" me to the second floor, waited then escorted me back to William. On the way, I asked if he was seeing family for Christmas. That opened a conversation about his family in Turkey. I asked where in Turkey. Ankara. It was then that I mentioned that my son loved Istanbul. He introduced himself to William, they talked about the street food in Istanbul and I think we both made a new friend for life. We all hugged when we left.

William and I hung out at home, set up my new airport with the older one used as a booster and waited for Michael to arrive home. It was nice. The sun was streaming in and there was time to chat, relax and just be together.

The plan for today was for William and Michael to run a lot of errands together then we are to be at our neighbor's Rick and Natalie and their daughter Melanie home for 90-minutes before meeting British Don in the city for a late dinner of duck confit tacos or quesadilla. But now with Michael not at the top of his game, all plans might fly out the window!