A Holiday Party

It’s the first of February 2017 and I’m ashamed to say I never wrote my final blog for 2016. I’ve got my excuses, but I’ll save them for a separate post. The older Verne and I get, the more we rely on my blog to remember where we were and what we were doing…not just last year, but last month and occasionally last week. Yikes! Aging is not for the fainthearted. Writing this blog post is going to be challenging.

Grand Central Market

After spending a week eating and drinking in Portland over the Thanksgiving holiday, we came home and fasted (NOT!) for a week before driving to SoCal to help Jana and Andy with a combination housewarming/holiday party they’d planned for their friends. Andy’s parents (Helen and Alan), who we’d not met at this point, also drove down from Santa Rosa to help with the event. We spent Friday evening getting to know each other over dinner at the kids’ favorite restaurant, Maccheroni Republic, that’s just a short walk from their place in Central Los Angeles. I have to admit that downtown Los Angeles (DTLA, as it’s known) is really growing on me. I love the hustle and bustle (quite the contrast to our quiet home in Volcano), the architecture with its combination of beautiful old restored buildings and sleek new high-rises (the Grand Central Market is a perfect example of restoring and repurposing a hundred year old building—a train station, no less—into the largest open air market in LA), street art and wall murals at every corner (it’s art for the masses), and the streets that are alive with human energy all times of day. Initially, we were concerned about parking and getting around town, in general. It’s proven to be easy. We park, we walk, we sometimes Uber...

Jana and Mommy after lunch at Grand Central Market

Jana and "the best Daddy she's ever had"

We spent Saturday morning shopping for the party, but not until we’d enjoyed brunch at Grand Central Market. This was not our first meal at the market. Knowing the ropes, we took Helen and Alan in tow as we split with the kids to head to our favorite food vendor. The Market is a celebration of diversity offering food from every cuisine and culture: American, Indian, Asian, Mexican, BBQ, Vegetarian, to name a few. We’ve not deviated from our first experience last year when we enjoyed the best carnitas tacos we’ve ever eaten. We need to think about branching out and trying something new next visit. After eating we accompanied Jana as she shopped for cheese and other items for a charcuterie board, smoked salmon for a beautiful terrine she later made, and fruit for a sangria punch (that no one drank). 

Three Scots (Alan, Helen and #1 son, Andy)

It took all six of us (plus one cat) and the remaining five hours to prepare for the first guests arriving at 5 p.m. Parties are a lot of work! While the sangria was passed by, the champagne…that is, sparkling wine…was a big hit. The McGee’s brought a couple of cases of sparkling wine from Helen’s employer, Gloria Ferrer, and it was enjoyed by all. It came complete with Alan’s demo on how to safely open the bubbly. It would be unfortunate to injure a guest with a flying cork. Unfortunate, but very funny. Next year I’ll offer to uncork the sparkling wine and I’ll have a much more entertaining story for you!

Izzy in her safe place away from all the humans

We met Raelin and family in Pasadena for breakfast the next morning before we headed home. It’s always good to see them even if it’s just for a couple of hours. Maybe the infrequency of our visits is actually why it’s so good to see them. (Just kidding!) Raelin and Kendall shared their excitement over an upcoming trip to England with Kendall’s high school color guard team. I think Raelin convinced herself that 16-year old Kendall wouldn’t want to travel without her mommy. Right! Those two are joined at the hip, as they say. I wonder if Rae will be joining Kendall at college in a few years?  Aaron continues to suffer from back problems. It always saddens me to see him hobbling around with a cane. I wrote about Aaron and his ailments (three bulging discs) over a year ago. At that time he chose bedrest over surgery and after a few months was able to return to work. Over the last year he has been involved in two freeway accidents, one involving a semi-truck which totaled his car and just about totaled him. Both accidents have caused further damage to his back leaving surgery his only option. One unlucky guy! Then there’s Sam, the final and youngest Burkhard at 13 years old and now the tallest of the family. Sam has two Moser traits that are impossible to miss. Since Sam was a little guy he has loved books and would rather read than do anything else…just like his Grandpa Verne and Aunt Lauren. Both bookaholics! Secondly, Sam has the Moser quick wit and sense of humor. He’s not quite as mouthy as his mother (yet), but I can always see that he’s laughing (at his own humor) on the inside. A few more years and Sam will definitely be a match for his mom. Great kids. Great parenting. The Burkhard’s are a loving, laughing family and it’s always a pleasure to spend time with them. I love them all!

Raelin and her precious children, Kendall and Sam

Whew! I’m exhausted after writing that last gushy paragraph. Raelin read me the riot act a few months ago after I’d posted a blog about our SoCal trip and failed to mention our time with the Burkhard family. I apologized and tried to make amends by revising the original posting with a line or two about our time together. Too little, too late. Rae, will you finally forgive me?

To be continued…