Doris Mortenson Turns 85

A woman with many titles, but one true name, Doris Mortenson. She turned 85 the other day and the event was celebrated by a fairly large turnout of the extendable family. The turnout was testament to the legacy that family is. There were people there that I didn't talk to. There were people that I haven't spoken to in years. There were people that I don't know. There were a lot of people with cameras. I was one of them. Hooray pictures! The prime rib was delicious. The cake was good. The champagne came in fancy bottles (thanks to Ron.)

Hopefully we can all do it again when she turns 90! Happy Birthday Grandma!

Breakfast at Kodani's 2/25/07

After 33 years, Kodani's Japanese Restaurant closed today. Twelve lucky people showed up at 11:00 am this Sunday morning and were treated to scrambled eggs, pancakes, fried rice and egg rolls. Katsuko brought a can of instant coffee and a pitcher of hot water to our table and mixed up coffee right at the table."No beer today," she said.



I've been going to Kodani's since I was 17. It's the best homestyle Japanese food around. I had to hold back tears as I looked around at the same paintings, decorations, fixtures and furniture I've been staring at for the last 22 years.















When breakfast was over, Katsuko gave us food TO-GO, a Tracking Bubble Lamp (something someone had probably given her as a gift) dried persimmons, and a bag of cookies she'd baked. I asked if we could write to her so the girls could thank her for the gifts. "No more contact," she said. "All done."

With that, she went from table to table and gave everyone hugs and thanks. We were all ushered out by 12:15. I went back to the kitchen to thank the old man (I still don't know his name).

It was so hard to leave. On the way out I picked up an old teapot from one of he tables and asked Katsuko if I could have it. "Take, take," she said.

With that, we left. Kodani's is closed.

Christmas is Coming

It is almost here. Many of you have already had your fill of it. Shopping and all that. I'm catching a ride to come back to the southern lands for the festivities. Thanks to Mike and Libby for the opportunity. It will be nice not having to drive this time. So I'll charge my camera battery and gear up for the chance to capture a few moments of the old Ho,Ho, Ho! Seeing everyone is always nice. This will be a pretty rare get together of all four of the siblings so we can all expect great things.

See you soon.

Post Thanksgiving Post

Hey Pat, thanks for setting up this blog thing. It was nice to see you lurking about these past few days. Now the only evidence that you were here is the still rumpled bed in the playroom and a pack of Marboro's with three ciggys.

Thanksgiving was, from my perspective, a loud racuous blur with mediocre food of varying temperatures and some surprisingly good wine. What I remember most, apart from the ham vs. turkey knock-down-drag-out (note to dad: RESPECT the turkey--even if it's dry) is that everyone seemed to be happy to be there and happy to be together. In the end, that's all that really matters.

A shout out to Samara for pulling together some awesome home-made whipped cream and for her positive channeling of OCD into unbelievably thorough tablecloth ironing. To Virginia who just knows what to do; to mom for helping me look respectable (good wines and pies, nice silverware, the gigantic coffee pot and the blessed cornicopia--she had an Extra one).
To Ron for rolling up in the car of the year. To Dan for bravely showing up year after year (we love to have you). To Pat who is just cool. To Sara for bringing the damn ham--it's not her fault that dad tried to usurp the turkey with it. And to all those noisy, wild kids, because it is they who really make the holidays special.

See you all next year?

November 27, 2006 9:31:00 PM PST

Thanksgiving

So like here we are, at Peter's donuts. No I mean at Chris and Betsy's. So happy Thanksgiving. This is the curse of technology. I know that all of you can think and type though so have a seat. This is a good place to update people with information about family events and you can even post pictures and whatnot. Tell us all about your children or grandchildren. Share that secret recipe for eggnog. Tell Betsy what you really thought about her persimmon pudding. (not recommended) Leave notes for those who don't have reliable phone service, but still obsesssively find themselves online every day. (is that just me?)

It is nice to be down here to see all of you. I hope everyone enjoys dinner and gets a chance to talk a little. I keep finding ways to become poorer so I probably won't be down for Christmas. I like the weather here I must say. My butt is still sore from driving yesterday. If I host Thanksgiving next year I wonder how many people would come? I could set up an account with upcoming.org to make a list that people could check to say they would be willing to come and to see who else is coming. That might be considered excessive use of technology by some, but this whole computer thing is here to stay. Embrace the love. Ramble on and rest assured that this may be the only place where the family can gather and everyone can get a word in edgewise!