Bix Birthday Bash

 It's been a week for great meals and big "zero" celebrations. Sigrid and I celebrated our 20th anniversary on Tuesday, and tonight we celebrate Lee's big birthday with Joanne, JJ, and Rod. It would be indiscreet of me to say which birthday he is celebrating. But it does end in zero. And he is older than me. So... do the math.

Dinner was at Bix, another of our favorites. We've got a lot of history here. We've patronized the restaurant since it opened in 1988 when Joanne and I worked in the Oracle San Francisco office.

 Here Lee is inspecting his wine glass in front of the iconic Mark Stock painting:

 Scenes from the dinner table:

steak tartare

lobster spaghetti

"Faux" Gras

duck breast

The appetizer is "faux gras" instead of foie gras since foie gras is now illegal in California. This due to one of the most phenomenally batshit stupid pieces of legislation ever passed in the history of mankind. It's the same duck liver, same dead ducks, but it takes more of them to make the "faux gras" since it is a pate' and not individual livers. I guess the veganoids like it that way. I hope they are happy. The blood of all those additional dead ducks are on their hands. In any case - it was pretty damn tasty, and a pretty good substitute.  But I digress....

It was all good.

Happy birthday Lee

20th Anniversary Celebration

Flowers - check. Balloons - check. Chocolate - check.

 We moved to San Francisco together in January of 1983, so I've always thought we really should start the clock on that date. But... the official date of our wedding was September 25, 1992 so I guess we only get credit for 20 years.  Still, a milestone of significance to celebrate in style.   They say your favorite restaurant is one where they know you. Dinner at Allegro Romano, one of our favorite SF restaurants, right in the neighborhood, where Lorenzo always takes good care of us.

Reservations...check.

Martini - check.              Wine - check.

We start with vodka martinis - shaken and stirred (far preferable to the Bond formulation). Then a short stroll to dinner at Allegro Romano which, as is my wont, we seriously over-document here...

Bruschetta

Carpaccio

Rissotto w/ truffles

spinach and asparagus

NY steak

fish - sea bass

A tiramisu masterpiece

It was as good as it looks

Twenty (or thirty) years and counting. We are beginning to think this might work out.

Shuttle Flyover

I was in Michigan for the flyover, but Sigrid got some nice shots as the Endeavor took a couple of victory laps around the Bay. Sorry I missed it. The end of an era.

Parting Shots

Got a late start, but made the trip to Chicago in 5 hours 54 minutes door-to-door elapsed time. One stop for gas and a pass through a drive through for coffee.

As we left it...

Some Closing Notes for Fall / Winter Visitors:

Wood and kindling loaded and ready. Some wood is a little green.

The ash tray has holes in it. DO NOT CARRY HOT ASH IN THIS TRAY. Dump the ash in the metal bucket and carry them out in the bucket. 

Two sections of dock removed and stacked on other sections.

I am including this picture for the winter visitors. When the dock is covered with snow, remember what lies underneath. You probably don't want to walk on this.

Emergency supplies in the wine cellar

Emergency free drink chits for the Hideaway.

Until next time.

EDITORS NOTE: I am back filling a bunch of posts, as I got behind wile working on another project.

Of birds and bird feeders....

 

During the spring trip we brought a window sill bird feeder to camp and installed it in the den window.  There it sat, filled with bird seed, all spring, all summer, and into the first fall color in the trees as autumn approached. Not one friggin' bird was seen in the bird feeder during that entire time. Until today - on our last day at camp, as we were cleaning and preparing to close for the season, just minutes from removing the feeder as a failed experiment to never be repeated, then the birds found it. And once they found it, it was continually occupied for the few hours until it had to be pulled.  Jays, sparrows, and finches made an appearance.

Better late than never I guess. We'll try to make it easier to find when we install it again in the spring.

In other bird news, the Great Blue Heron was regular early morning visitor.

We also saw the bald eagle swooping across the bay, and a pair of ruffled grouse hanging out in the brush on the north side, but did not get a good shot photo.

Of electric motors and shear pins...

 

A reference post on the misbehaving electric motor for the Tin Can:

Although there is a screw head on the spindle, the screw does not turn.

We removed the prop by turning the nut with vice grips.

Under the prop - twisted fish line and...

... a broken shear pin.

The shear pin is designed to break before the prop or engine when fouled or hitting bottom.

Bob is located between the Hideaway and Tall Timbers. A good guy and a good resource for any engine problems.

He fabricated more pins for us, which seem to work fine.

Extra shear pins are located here.

That is all.