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A
couple of days before Christmas, we were able to visit Joe and Dody
Sharp, two friends of ours who live in Fallbrook, CA, so that Anya could
see their home decorations. Dody has an extensive doll collection and
these are two of Steve’s favorites.
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While
Joe and Dody may have ‘scaled back’ their Christmas decorations
compared to previous years, we certainly very much appreciated being
able to see them again and to visit their home so that Anya could see
the decorations for the first time.
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After
looking at the decorations, Joe and Dody treated us to a great meal
at OSCARS (which is one of our favorite restaurants).
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After
looking at some of the Christmas decorations at homes in the local area,
we went back to their place for dessert—and found out that SANTA
HAD COME EARLY and left Joe a new toy: A HONDA ALL TERRAIN VEHICLE (“ATV”)!
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Dody
had a very decorative Christmas table setting and we thoroughly enjoyed
her pecan pie dessert. Lena and Anya enjoyed opening their gifts. Anya
was delighted with getting a lighted glass Santa “stocking-holder”
and a Christmas stocking.
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When we got home, Anya insisted on hanging her decorative stocking in
her bedroom. Then, on Christmas Eve while Anya was sleeping, Lena put
a 'santa bear' in the stocking and Anya woke up to find the new stuffed
bear hanging there at the foot of her bed.
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Anya
got really emotional and actually CRIED...she was SO HAPPY! Lena and
I laughed when Anya told us that “she had been a Child of Socialism
and had never EVER received a Christmas present BEFORE!” [True
story!]
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Even
though many of the photos we had taken since Anya’s arrival involved
FOOD in one way or another, Steve decided to show Anya how to bake CHEESECAKES
from scratch.
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Of
course, he baked the “low calorie” variety having a HOT FUDGE
base topped off with CARMEL...
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We
took Anya up to see Dave Seyller (who lives next to the ocean in Newport
Beach).
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After
enjoying an excellent CHINESE dinner, Dave took us on a boat tour of
Huntington Harbor to see the beautiful Christmas decorations on all
the homes along the inland canals.
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Thank
heavens we had worn some warm clothing because the air was rather cold
for California that night—especially when one was standing topside
on a boat and the wind was blowing briskly across the bow!
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The
boat tour lasted about one hour and we were all rather impressed with
how extensively some of these multi-million dollar water front homes
had been decorated.
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Since
the boat was moving and I did not have a tripod, it was not really possible
to get any decent photos of these Christmas decorations.
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On
Christmas Day we went with Dave Seyller to the La Costa Resort and Spa
located in Carlsbad for an absolutely INCREDIBLE BRUNCH. Having eaten
there last Christmas, we could only hope that ‘someday’ Anya
might be able to enjoy such an experience.
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As
we entered the newly-renovated section of La Costa where they were having
the Christmas Brunch, we were “met” by a little Santa statue.
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Once
inside (and after we were escorted to our window seat), we made straight
for the section of the buffet line that featured the Alaska King Crab,
Jumbo Peeled Shrimp, Smoked Fish, and Caviar!
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Needless
to say, we could almost make a meal on the goodies on only this section
of the buffet.
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Our
window table had a very nice view which overlooked the La Costa putting
greens and golf course.
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We
then headed back to the buffet to load up our plates with Turkey, Prime
Rib, Ham, Veal, Ravioli, etc., for round number TWO (but, who was counting?)!
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The
DESSERT LINE at La Costa was one which Steve will always remember.
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On
the other hand, Lena and Anya ended up refilling their plates several
times with FRESH STRAWBERRIES and they will both no doubt remember that
La Costa RAN OUT OF STRAWBERRIES! <grin>
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While
sitting at the table stuffing ourselves almost to oblivion, it was somewhat
ironic watching other people out on the gold course getting their daily
exercise.
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La
Costa had several large nicely decorated Christmas trees around the
premises and we simply had to get a photo of this one for our web site.
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For
a somewhat less costly buffet, we met several of our MACINTOSH computer
friends at the Hometown Buffet in San Marcus for brunch a few days after
Christmas. Joe Sharp, Derrick Garbell, John Collins (along with Darleen),
and Dave Seyller...
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...were
able to make this year’s “MAC USER HOG OUT.”
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Needless
to say, for some of us—especially STEVE—all these huge holiday
meals have been taking a toll on the old waist line and sooner or later
it is going to be necessary to pay the piper as far as getting off all
the newly-added pounds. When we got...
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...back
to our home after this gathering at Hometown Buffet, we had to assemble
a “space-saver” storage rack for the closet. Since this evolution
required getting down on the floor to do the work, Steve was more than
happy to have Anya do it!
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