John Tesh in Positano

December 21, 2018 Friday
7:33 AM Sassy
Happy Friday kid! This is the best Friday of the year with 11 days off after it!!

8:31 AM Phil
Happy Friday! I have six days off followed with a day of work and then four more off so this indeed good! Off to the beach in the AM. Going to see the Little Mermen tomorrow night.

8:32 AM Sassy
Hooray! What’s Little Mermen?

12:07 PM Phil
It’s a band out of NY that plays Disney tunes. They get great reviews so my favorite brewery and then Mermen

1:34 PM Sassy
That sounds right up your alley!

1:36 PM Phil
The kid is going to go with us so great beer, a chance to see the lights down town, fun little show and dinner at downtown. Sounds like a great night to me. Wings with my buddy for lunch to start it off.

2:33 PM Sassy
I’m home! It’s awful out!  64 and raining?  Doesn’t feel like winter! We broke a record! The previous record high was 62 set on this date in 1957.
So glad to be done for the year!  Starting 11 days off! 
Love you!

3:28 PM Phil
Raining here but the sun is coming back out.
Love you back!

4:48 PM Sassy
Lunch at Border Cafe – tasty gumbo and etouffee!

10:21 PM Phil
Watching KD Lang, love her voice

10:25 PM Sassy
She is awesome!

10:26 PM Phil
Yeah, what a voice
Needed a break from these idiot politicians. Bunch of morons

10:27 PM Sassy
Yeah

Mattis leaving is scary…

10:38 PM Sassy
Heard this on the radio today for the first time… classical guitar and piano make for a special combo 

Carol of the Bells • John Tesh • Christmas in Positano, Italy

10:55 PM Phil
Mattis was the voice of reason. We should all be concerned. Trump is a moron and his team are equally inept. The emperor has surrounded himself with fools. 

I’ve been to Positano

It’s as beautiful as it looks

11:27 PM Sassy
I was thinking you had been there.

Genki Ya sushi

December 20, 2018 Thursday

6:31 AM Sassy
Good morning!
Fell asleep at 5:30 last night…didn’t wake up until 1:30 am. Oops.
Was up for an hour, then back to sleep for 4 hours. Wacky.
Have a terrific Thursday!

11:39 AM Phil

Ha! That’s a great alarm!

8:33 PM Sassy
Sushi supper at Genki Ya in Davis Square Somerville

Warm and salty edamame
Soft-shell crab tempura
Maki roll with eel and sweet potato
Pork katsu curry
Volcano roll



Cafe Sushi

December 19, 2018 Wednesday

7:07 AM Sassy
Good morning Philip!
Another working Wednesday!
I get to do the payroll early. Whee.
Hope your day is wonderful!
[gif of Snoopy in a sleeping bag waving and saying Morning!]

2:56 PM Sassy
Superb lunch at Cafe Sushi in Cambridge

Sushi bar
Zen interior
Miso soup and garden salad
Teriyaki chicken bento box with CA roll and shumai

4:12 PM Phil
Cute!
Had a good day. Settling into work.
Very nice temperatures

2019 Plans

December 18, 2018 Tuesday

8:03 AM Sassy
It’s Tuesday time! Let’s rock it!
I get to take 25 people out for a holiday lunch! We’re doing the Indian buffet! And the Yankee swap…whee!

4:24 PM Phil
Woo Hoo! Awesome!

Just booked a cruise – San Diego, San Francisco, Victoria and Vancouver

4:53 PM Sassy
Oooh! I adored Victoria- so British!
And Vancouver is awesome – beautiful, cosmopolitan… fun!

6:36 PM Phil
Both are fabulous and five days of being spoiled on Disney Wonder

Plus a long weekend in San Diego with a short trip to DisneyLand

8:21 PM Sassy
Wow… sounds fantastic!

9:04 PM Phil

[photo of a ship sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge]

Be gorgeous in the spring. Still cool and beautiful at sea

9:07 PM Sassy
My current theory on retiring is May 17… worked on the numbers tonight to make sure I can make enough by then to do the pre-tax 403(b) and Roth IRA contributions I want to.

I visited Victoria and Vancouver in late April… fantastic!

9:09 PM Phil
Awesome! That’s wonderful. Love both towns but Victoria is spectacular. I have another five years at work but I’m still enjoying it

9:10 PM Sassy
You are so lucky!

My boss makes every day bad. Couldn’t even get through the Holiday Lunch without her trying to sabotage my setup.  But everyone else said it was wonderful, so I will focus on that!

9:14 PM Phil
That’s why I left my last job. Boss was a two faced prick. Honestly hope I never see him again. I’m very happy where I am now
9:16 PM Sassy
I am so happy to hear that!

Karl’s Sausage Kitchen

December 16, 2018 Sunday

8:09 AM Sassy
Good morning kid!
I’m off to Karl’s Sausage Kitchen to get brunch and Christmas treats!
Then two project meetings. Whee! Have a superb Sunday!
11:04 AM Sassy
Tasty breakfast and Christmas shopping at Karl’s Sausage Kitchen in Peabody
The entrance
Their distinctive sign
Lebkuchen gingerbread hearts from Germany
Lebkuchen prices
Cafe
The shop filled with European treats
Cute salt and pepper shakers
American breakfast with fried eggs, soft rye toast, 
bacon and polish sausage
Bavarian breakfast with scrambled eggs, pretzel and weiswurst

Fisherman’s platter

December 15, 2018 Saturday

9:11 AM Sassy
Good morning kid!
Congrats on the test results!! Does this mean you get to work now?

I’m off to Sis’s house to sort through family photos. Aiming to cull 10,000 down to about 1,000 to be digitized. Whee! Good task for a rainy Saturday.

9:35 AM Phil
It means I get to work now. Have fun!
Cantata practice today, uncluttering my office and then football!
Have fun sorting through photos!

1:59 PM Sassy
Lucious late lunch at Court House Seafood!  I got their stuffed clam and fisherman’s platter with fried clams, shrimp, scallops and fish and a baked potato!  So fresh and good!

Yukon survivor

December 14, 2018 Friday

7:21 AM Sassy
Happy Friday kid! I’m working at home this morning then heading out to the burbs to see The Northerner! Have a fantastic day!

11:28 AM Phil
Happy Friday! Enjoy!

2:19 PM Phil

[photo of the Athena Pallas restaurant – we ate there when I first saw him again in 2010]

2:20 PM Sassy
Oooh!

2:20 PM Phil
Yummy!

2:21 PM Sassy
What’d you eat?

2:22 PM Phil
Moussaka. I’m sure I spelled it wrong. It’s my favorite

2:22 PM Sassy
Yay!

2:23 PM Phil
Not been there for a long time. Good as always

2:24 PM Sassy
Take folks with you?

4:33 PM Phil
Went with people from work. 

Lamb looked amazing! Saganaki looked good too. Wish I had tried the octopus

5:13 PM Sassy
Fascinating obit

Helen Klaben Kahn, survivor of a 49-day Yukon ordeal, 76

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/obituaries/2018/12/13/helen-klaben-kahn-survivor-day-yukon-ordeal/udlbDmpeoFAGjCRRC5hw4O/story.html

Festive food

December 13, 2018 Thursday

10:36 AM Sassy
Good morning!
Hope you’re having a terrific Thursday!!
It’s my Friday and it’s Holiday Party day at work. Wheeeee

3:21 PM Sassy
Holiday Party treats at the office!  From Via Lago catering in Lexington 

 A festive table 
 Scottish smoked salmon and boursin toasts
 Middle Eastern platter with hummus, tabouli, grape leaves 
and olives with pita bread
 Paprika-dusted deviled eggs 
 English cucumber cups with Maine lobster salad 
 Vegetable crudites with dips
 Cheese and crackers with fruit 
 Caprese skewers with marinated mozzarella, grape tomatoes 
and basil with pesto sauce
 Gorgonzola Pistachio Apricots 
 Shrimp cocktail 
 Fruit tray
 Mini-pastries
 Chocolate-dipped strawberries 
 Cupcakes