Be My Valentine in Richmond

Courtney and the menu board for our festive Valentine's Day dinner. Thanks to Courtney and Jeff for the being the host and hostess of the year, absolutely!

Lovely Laura J, 16, in a favorite place reading a favorite trashy mag. Didn't we all love to do that at her age? (And don't we still love to do it sometimes now?

Dear brother Will and sweet Julia, 11. This young lady could beat me in every Wii competition, and she was a great help when taking Annie shopping.

Love to you all!

Friday found me escaping the snow on a southbound train to Richmond, although snow was a presence on the ground all the way down. The views from the train were far more lovely than usual thanks to that thick blanket of white. D.C. was particulary impressive with its incredible piles of snow absolutely everywhere!

Courtney met me at the station in Richmond, and Jeff joined us on a quick excursion to a wonderful new West End sushi restaurant, Tokyo Joe, for dinner and then home to settle in for the Opening Ceremonies of Vancouver 2010. Several hours and a bottle of wine later, we called it an evening but not before the last credits rolled on the screen.

Saturday morning Courtney had breakfast with one of her bridesmaids, Erin C., in from California to see her mom, while Jeff and I leisurely got ready and then headed to the airport to pick up my brother Will and nieces Laura and Julia in from Seattle. After lunch at home, we went to pick up Annie, my mom, at Cedarfield and decided that some frozen yogurt would be just the thing. We enjoyed a new and delicious self-serve probiotic frozen yogurt at Sweet Frog then went to Sunset Bowl for a very spirited and competitive set of frames! Will and I tied for top score, but I have to admit that we used bumpers. Annie had such fun watching us. Our last stop of the evening was China Star for a yummy dinner to celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Tiger and to treat Annie to her favorite cuisine. After we took Annie home, we settled down for Olympic viewing as the tired Seattleites slowly faded on the couch.

Happy Valentine's Day! Sunday morning the Wii Fit Plus was put into action, and there was lots of spirited competition in Slalom Skiing and Ski Jumping especially. All decided that Wii Fit was amazing, difficult, actually a very good workout and totally worth the money. I want one! (Did you ever think you would hear me say that about a video game system?)

Jeff's brother Scott and wife Amy arrived with 7 month old Chase for a short visit around noon, and all were entertained by Chase's crawling, grabbing, laughing, pulling to a stand, etc. After they left, Will, the girls and I picked up Annie for an excursion to the mall. Her shopping and returning and looking and shopping and returning took up the rest of our day. Courtney and Jeff spent the afternoon shopping for and then preparing our special Valentine's Day dinner. It was ready for us when we returned home after closing down the mall, and everything was absolutely delicious! As a result of all of the festivity, we were one hour late in getting Annie back to Cedarfield..Oops. Guess what we did for the rest of the evening? Why, we watched the Olympics, of course!

Monday AM Courtney and Jeff headed to work while Will and I met with Annie's financial advisor and then the head nurse at Cedarfield. It was good for me to hear what they had to say, and while I feel much better about Annie's finances, I am still somewhat confused about what the real situation is with Assisted Living. That confusion leaves me wishing I lived closer to Richmond so that I could visit more often and keep a better eye on her. For a change of pace after an intense morning, we picked up lanquid and late sleeping teen and pre-teen Laura and Julia at around 12 and met Courtney and Annie for lunch at The Deli at Cedarfield. Annie loved having us there. She said she felt like we were at a picnic! After a short visit with her cousins Harriet and Russell, we wanted her to join us in seeing the sweet and fun film "Valentine's Day", but she begged off due to the rain so Will stayed with her while Courtney, the girls and I took in the movie. We had fun and enjoyed that very fun fluff of a film featuring all kinds of favorite stars, but it was a race to the finish to get me back to the station in time for my evening train home. I hated to say goodbye to everyone, but prep for my next trip* was calling me.....

*Whistler-Blackcomb, BC for the Winter Olympics - departure set for 0 dark hundred, February 17, 2010! Stay tuned for as many blog updates as I can possibly figure out how to send!