Christmas in California 2022

December 24, 2022

This is a test.  I am needing to find another way to blog our travel adventures and thought about going back to Blogger.  I used this app initially and was later told it was unusable with Apple hardware.  But, maybe they have upgraded.  Anyway, that is why I am trying it today.

After a couple of nice days in Ashland, seeing two plays (It's Christmas, Carol - a Marx brother-like romp of the Dickens tale) and A White Christmas - very much like the Bing Crosby movie), we drove to Castro Valley.  We are spending the holidays with Brent, Stephanie and Logan.  Betsy's sister, Catherine, arrived a few days after we did.  We have enjoyed very good eating (Brent and Stephanie are great chefs) and seeing the kitchen that was built around last Christmas (at our Sisters' home) get good use. 

Betsy and I are staying in an AirBNB about half a mile away.  It is quite nice, with a gated parking lot, a roomy kitchen and bathroom, and many fine amenities.  It has an electric "wood stove," and a mini-split heat pump.  We are staying warm and have walked back and forth on most days, from Brent's home.

We are enjoying watching Logan as he runs around getting into mischief (he is 20-months old).  We have been to the park twice, where he goes for social interaction and practice with sharing toys with others of his peer group.

On Wednesday, Donna and Ralph, friends we met on our Japanese visit in 2015, came over for lunch.  It was great to see them.  They brought their dog, Sandy, to add to the household energy.  We enjoyed hamburgers and salad with a finish of Christmas cookies.

On Thursday, Betsy and I rode BART into San Francisco and toured the city on foot -- over nine miles but only 700 vertical feet, though it felt like more.  We enjoyed "high tea" at the Crown and Crumpet before coming back to Castro Valley on BART.

On Friday, we made gingerbread cookies, an annual treat that usually last well into January, since the recipe makes many cookies.  They are cutter cookies in the shape of animals, Christmas trees, stars,  men/women, etc.

We are glad to have missed the cold temperatures in Portland (20 degrees) and Sisters (5 degrees).  And after two days of worry since our heat pump/thermostat failed in Sisters, we had the local company access our house to fix things.  The interior temperature had dropped from 55 degrees to 36 degrees.  This is not a new problem -- a circuit breaker on a part of the electric heat coils pops off which takes the thermostat off and the entire system "goes dark."  The heat pump installers have been unable to fix this problem, though the technician yesterday re-wired the thermostat to another circuit that has a larger amperage level.  The company thinks the original breaker is the source of the problem.  I have bought a new one which I will install on our return to Sisters around the end of the month.

I hope you enjoy this test and addendum to Betsy's Christmas letter.  Enjoy the Holidays!

Philip