Awake: 7:40 am Temp 40 sleep 5+26 sunny overnight @ Lodi, CA.
Grandson Matthew honors us again with a phone call from PA. He tells me about the visitors (Jason & Billie Anne) they had for Thanksgiving & how they had to leave early because Billie Anne got sick; he was very sad about that. Then he asked to talk to his Grandma & Matthew told her a similar story. Then Kathy & Melissa talk for a short time before Melissa has to supervise the boys playing “together.”
En route to Ed & Mary Jo’s homestead, little Andrew calls from PA. Kathy answers & the only thing Andrew said is: “G-daddy.” Then he became a bit shy, whispered something, & gave the phone to Melissa whereupon she & Kathy resumed their nice chat. Before arriving @ Ed & Mary Jo’s house, we grocery shop @ the Food for Less store & @ Safeway.
Then we spend about (2) hrs just sitting around the kitchen table talking with Mary Jo, Ed, Jenny, & Matt. Over the yrs, Ed has collected as gifts, bottles of wine; beginning in the 70’s. I was curious about how these collectables are holding up & so convinced Ed to open a few of the older yrs & have a wine tasting. 1st bottle, a 1979 Cabernet, the cork literally crumbled when trying to extract it & the red wine was not red. After a quick taste, the contents were poured down the kitchen drain. 2nd bottle, a 1984 Merlot; with jacket removed, the wine had already wetted the entire cork & the cork had to be spooned out & wine filtered; another drain victim. (4) bottles bad; Ed decided to pass over a few bottles & skip ahead to a 1999 bottle that was fit to drink. Tomorrow the tasting will continue.
Ed, Mary Jo, Jenny, Kathy & I attend the 5:30 vigil Mass @ Saint Anne’s church in downtown, Lodi. Afterward, Ed tours us thru his business office (5) min from the church. He & his partner’s offices are very clean, well organized & up-to-date with computer technology that Brian keeps a close eye on.
Back to the Ed & Mary Jo homestead for a dinner of: beef tips, white rice & green beans. Then more excitement added to our day: we (4) play over (2) hrs of the card game: “Phase 10.” Kathy was the winner by a phase. Not only was it a fun game but the abusive threats & conversation + the stiff competition along the way made for a “sit on the edge of your seat” kind of terror. There were moments that I barely realized: this is only a game!
We say our goodbyes to Jenny as she is leaving in the morning for Fresno, CA. We enjoyed her spunky & humorous personality, especially when playing card games.
Back to our bus @ 11:35pm
Lights out: 12:38am
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