Louie is 10! Happy Birthday, Louie!

Today is Louie's 10th Birthday! My how the time flies! This year we decided to have a simple "intimate" dinner party rather than a big party. Last night was the dinner. The guests were Mary Ann, Dean, Ruth, and Louie's girlfriend, Pearly. The people dined on Peruvian Chicken, Mixed Grains, and a salad of Mushrooms and Asparagus.

The dogs enjoyed doggie cookies and anything they could pick up off the floor...there was particular interest among the dogs in the hors d'ouevres, particularly the cheese plate. For dessert, the dogs enjoyed a peanut butter and carob cake. There was great anticipation of the cake while the candles were being lit.

The people had Strawberry Chiffon Cake and Fresh Strawberries.

Happy Birthday, Louie...and many many more.

Happy Birthday Dixie!

Dixie, Jean, Sue, and I usually celebrate one another's birthdays by taking the Birthday Girl out to lunch at a restaurant of her choice.

Yesterday was our celebration of Dixie's Birthday.

We all swim on the Walnut Creek Masters swim team and have been friends for more than a decade.

This year, Dixie chose our local Mary's Pizza Shack. None of us had ever been to Mary's until a few months ago when the restaurant donated a portion of on day's proceeds to our swim team. In support of the team, a group of us met for lunch and were delighted with the food.

Mary's has 18 restaurants in Northern California. It was founded in 1959 in Boyes Hot Springs (Sonoma County) by Mary Fazio, who prepared her family's Italian recipes in what was a shack of a building. Although Mary passed away in 1999, the family, now including grandchildren, continues to operate what started as, and so continues as, a family-owned restaurant.

So here we were, back again.

Remembering how good Mary's Salad, with lettuce, marinated bean salad, salami, hard-boiled eggs, mozzarella, beets, and other fresh veggies was, Dixie ordered a small Mary's Salad and a Regular-sized order of Mozzarella Garlic Bread.

The other three of us, chose one of the newer sandwiches on the menu: the Italian BLTA, a BLT with sliced avocado, melted provolone cheese, and Italian dressing on foccacia bread. All Sandwiches and Entrees are served with a choice of soup, a small Mary's Salad, or a small Caesar Salad.

When Dixie's Garlic Bread arrived on a small pizza pan, we all gasped at what a large serving it was.



That did not phase Dixie at all...she started in on it and by the time we were done with our meals, Dixie had eaten all but one slice which she shared with me and Jean. Follow the pictures in this post to see the Garlic Bread disappearing.









As you can see, the servings are very generous and all ingredients are fresh. Most lunch items are priced under $10 and there are lunch specials for as little as $6.25. Dinner prices for entrees are slightly higher, but none over $15.

Of course there are lots of pizza choices too in a variety of sizes (from individual to large), crusts (including gluten-free) and with a large choice of toppings.



When I got to the restaurant, I told the host that we had a birthday in our group. I wasn't sure if they would offer Dixie a dessert or just say "Happy Birthday" or do nothing...but, it never hurts to try and, lo and behold, a Brownie Ice Cream Sundae was brought to Dixie...a full-sized serving, on the house.



Lucky for all of us, she shared and we all enjoyed.

Happy Birthday, Dixie!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TED!

Ted would be 68 today. I still think I am going to see him on Sunday mornings at Farmer's Market and, later, for coffee at Whole Foods.

Last night we carried on our Ted Birthday tradition with a pizza dinner at Skipolini's.



Ray and Liz are now part of our celebration of Ted's life and his memory.



Ted, you are always part of our lives.

A DAY AT FILOLI; ANOTHER CELEBRATION

My third celebration of this week, another birthday celebration, was with Debbie...a day at Filoli, the Mansion and Gardens in Woodside, California, 30 miles south of San Francisco.

Filoli was the private residence, originally of William Bowers Bourn II and his wife, Agnes Moody Bourn (1917 – 1936). In 1937, the property was sold to Mr. and Mrs. William P. Roth. In 1975, Mrs. Roth donated Filoli to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It is open daily to the public from mid-February through late October (Adult admission: $12; Student admission: $5). It was built between 1915 and 1917 and is the last and longest surviving of California estates built in the early 20th century.

The estate includes 16-acres of English Renaissance style gardens and the 36,000 square-foot Georgian residence, both of which can be explored by visitors on a self-guided tour. Other trails and orchards on the property can be visited by reservation, in the company of a docent. For those doing the self-guided tour, there are well-informed docents in the house and gardens (in gardens only on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoons).

We spent most of the day here, arriving at about 10:30 a.m. and leaving at 3:30 p.m.

Since it was a bit cool when we arrived, we decided to tour the house first and then, after lunch in their café, to tour the gardens when it was warmer outside. We had a perfect day.

These photos are highlights from our day.

The Entry:



We wandered from room to room within the house. Some of the furnishings belonged to the original owners and some have been donated.







Since Debbie and I are girls who just want to have fun, Debbie could not resist posing in the Silver storage room and I had to jump into the Wine Closet.




The Café offers tasty salads, sandwiches, and pastries. It has indoor and outdoor seating.



My Tuna Melt, served with a green salad and chips, was just the kind of lunch I wanted.



We sat on the outdoor patio. I was impressed with the floral design on the patio chairs...keeping with the spirit of the estate's magnificent gardens.



After lunch, we explored the gardens.











Our final stop was in the Garden Shop, a beautiful gift shop, and the Nursery, where many of the plants that are in the gardens are for sale.

A bit more information/trivia:

• The chief source of wealth of the Bourn family, the original owners, was the Empire Gold Mine in Grass Valley, California . Mr. Bourn also owned and was president of the Spring Valley Water Company whose holdings included Crystal Springs Lake which is on the southern end of the Filoli estate.

• The name "Filoli" comes from Mr. Bourn's credo: "Fight for a just cause; Love your fellow man; Live a good life."

• The Roth family, the second and last owners, owned the Matson Navigation Company. Mrs. Roth's maiden name was Matson.

A WEEK OF CELEBRATIONS

This has been a week of celebrations for me.

Monday, some of my Masters Swim Team buddies took me to lunch at Lark Creek Cafe in Walnut Creek.



If you look carefully, you will see the fresh wild salmon in my sandwich...outstanding meal!

Lark Creek very graciously serves a complimentary dessert to the birthday person. My friends debated between the warm chocolate cupcake and the berry crisp. The crisp won and was large enough for all five of us to share.



Then, Wednesday night, to celebrate the end of my term as President of Mt. Diablo Business Women, the premiere social and networking organization for business women in the San Francisco Bay Area, as far as I am concerned, my Board treated me to dinner at Maria Maria, the innovative Mexican restaurant in Walnut Creek.



Maria Maria is part of the restaurant group owned by the local Dudum family. Carlos Santana collaborated with the restaurant's chef and the Dudums to create the restaurant and its contemporary Mexican menu. His song "Maria Maria" is the inspiration of its name. My favorite dish here is the Chile Relleno. The Chiles are stuffed with vegetables and broiled, not fried. The traditional cheese filling is instead melted around the chiles and accompanied by a spicy tomato sauce. It's a colorful and delicious dish.

Today I enjoyed yet another birthday celebration at Filoli which I will describe in another post.

I am grateful for my supportive friends and colleagues.