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We made it to San Jose without a hitch no thanks to United Airlines, but plenty of thanks to mystery UA ticketing agent who processed my “required” check-in ahead of a few hundred people waiting in line.

I managed to pick out a real winner of a sushi joint this time based on some local web reviews. We took Grandma to Umi Sushi in San Jose. Oh wow – that food was so good. I mean, this is almost on par with Ai. This will be a repeat restaurant for sure.

sashimi lover’s plate

special rolls

They had a huge selection of special rolls and a number of sushi items with poki. Delish! Grandma was digging it too. We checked into our hotel after lunch and took a nap since we had been up since 3:30 in the morning.

In the evening, we took Grandma to a party at my mom’s cousin’s house. There was so much Chinese food! It was really good, except we were still recovering from our sushi lunch. I don’t know how we’re going to survive this weekend.

IL’s are in town for a visit. This morning I made hashed browns, french toast with raspberry sauce, and freshly peeled grapefruit for brekkie. I then absconded to the bedroom and rowed for 30 minutes (the rowing machine was moved upstairs for the weekend), did my sit ups, and then did my tele exercises. It was snowing outside and the winds were CALM. Oh man, I would have been skiing if not for our visitors.

We drove down to Boulder for the 11:00 Celestial Seasonings tour. The mint room is amazing. But what I loved most about the whole thing was all of the art that has been commissioned for the various tea flavors. The paintings which become the labels for the tea boxes are on display in the tasting room. I love the whimsical mix of animals, fruits, and scenes. It’s so sweet and playful – vibrant and beautiful.

a cold winter day is perfect for sampling teas

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Grandma’s 85th birthday banquet at Chef Chu’s in Palo Alto was quite an event. Grandma was surprised, the food was amazing, the room was tight, and I am pretty sure Grandma enjoyed it. That’s most important. Well, here are some shots from last night.

mom (right) and her two best friends of 50+ years

joanna (mom’s cousin), mom, grandma, my three aunts

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