Catching up.

Leven and Bethany just went around the world, following in the footsteps of one of his father's old excursions. Leven's father was an art director and architect from Yale, worked for Cecil B. DeMille and has his own house at Taliesen, the Ralph Jester House.

They send me this picture of an Edward Hopper from the Thyssen Museum in Madrid.

I never made it to that museum when I was in Madrid but I have always wanted to go. I hear that it is fabulous.

Jeff Olsen's wife Bernadette was in Mexico City and he sends this shot she took of a street vendor.

And a shot of his lovely wife very close to a red tailed hawk.

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Everybody gets to travel but us.

Barry Friedman went to Rome and Venice with his daughter.

Steve and Sue Stoops just came back from Malta, Sicily and Rome.

Dain and Sue Calvin just came back from Japan.

I went to National City once.

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Renée was in Sausalito with her family, she sent along some pictures of her Thanksgiving meal.

She's a great cook and the prime rib she once cooked us on her mother's ancient farberware rotisserie was the best I have ever had.

She took her grandkids to The Lion King yesterday.

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I went to Trupianos the other day and had my favorite penne rustico pasta. Faro has a new affordable lunch menu that includes a salad. Best Italian food in town.

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I was not a close friend of the late pharmacist Kermit Harrison, but I have many friends that were and we have lost a pillar of our community this week.

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I saw a pack of four or five coyotes cavorting at the bottom of Maurer's lawn this morning.

I went back to take a shot and they were gone. 

I rarely see large groups.

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My wife Leslie took this shot of a full rainbow in our valley last week.

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I was applying the palm systemic yesterday when I hit my head on an avocado.

Gadzooks. The fuerte is fruiting again, thanks to the wet year, my favorite avocado.

Hasn't born fruit in years since we can't afford to give it the water it needs.

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Jerry sent this along. Pass it on to your xenophobic friends.

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Fresh ginger from Doug and Retha's home in Maui.

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Fallbrook's B.K. "Nick" Nicholson jamming with a bunch of kids at the International Bluegrass Symposium in North Carolina. He is quite the mandolin player.