John and I dropped off the parents at the airport, and then immediately headed over to the Maker Faire. That place was fucking mobbed. Seriously, it took us about 45 min just to get in the front gate. Lines were wrapped all the way around the parking lot. This is what happens I suppose with events with cult-live followings.

John tries to go every year, and this year he convinced me by trying to sell the whole “craft” angle. The good news is that I actually met and spoke with JH, the creator of WoolBuddy!! It was pretty darn cool. I told him my parents were just in town, and mom and I did WoolBuddies. I didn’t show him the pictures, but I’ll leave that up to his imagination. Truth be told, mom’s owl was deformed. It looked more like an owl-parrot hybrid, and dad even went so far as to describe it like a rabbit, so needless to say, that one needed some help.

What else. We found an artist that we really liked, and we actually purchased two of her prints. Of course, leave it to us to pick out a print of the Golden Gate Bridge that features two lesbians. Yes, I thought one of the members of the couple had a strange “guy” haircut, and it wasn’t until we had left the artist’s stall that we both realized the artwork featured a same-sex couple. Not that we are anti-gay, but well, it was supposed to be in our living room representing us in some forced way. 😉 Long story short, I went back to the artist and asked to exchange the piece for another. My explanation was that the colors were too dark for where I wanted to hang it. Issue averted, but man, leave it to us to fuck up the initial selection. See for yourself: Original purchase One and Two. Replacement print. Her work is very fun.

We also purchased these fun lil Japanese paper toys called Piperoids. Basically, they are movable toys created from paper pipes. We made these the other night. Totally crafty and cute.

The parentals were in town earlier this month on their annual pilgrimage to the Houseboat. Of course, I was stressed the entire week prior and the week during, wracking my brain, trying to figure out what the hell to do with them for a week. Fortunately, from the last time they were here, the house at least had had some dramatic improvements with the outdoor space dressed up and some of the indoor spaces decorated a bit. The house just was a bit more lived in, which I think made them just more settled and comfortable. They liked what the landscapers had done with the backyard and such.

As usual, we gave up our Westin bed for the week. Luckily, I found an air mattress on Amazon (just two days before their arrival) for us in the guest room, and with the memory foam mattress topper, that thing was pretty damn comfy. No comparison to the Westin bed which still has the heated mattress topper, but nonetheless, the air mattress was a clear upgrade from the crappy futon to which many past visitors have been subjected (Sorry!).

Anyway, the visit itself went fine. I spent the weekend with them, taking them to some new Chinese restaurants and then during the week, I took off two days. One night mom and I made Woolbuddies; we did a bit of shopping, paperwork/logistical stuff, cooking at home, and then pretty much the trip was over. Oh well, on Friday I took them to the DeYoung Observatory in Golden Gate Park. It was a nice day, and I packed some fruit, so we sat outside afterwards and soaked in the sunshine. For lunch, I took them to Burma Superstar, and wow, that was a tasty, pleasant surprise. I’ve been craving their fermented tea leaf salad ever since. I was just happy though to have my parents try something new and actually like it.

The good news is that my parents seem to be healthy. We went for nightly walks around the neighborhood, and they certainly held their own while walking through Golden Gate Park. They are noticeably slower when they walk but thankfully, they are still truckin’ along.

And of course I should mention that no trip ends without the obligatory incident where mom tries to give me her old clothes. Every now and then, there’s something worth wearing but usually, it’s fuddy duddy shit that’s oversized and totally not age appropriate. Jesus, if my father tells me one more time that I should wear “more professional” attire (“like suits from Kasper”), I’m going to fucking scream. I’m not 65+, for crying out loud!!!  And in my office, no one fucking shows up to work in suits. Seriously, we wear JEANS!! What can I do but shake my head in disbelief.

John and I celebrated nine years of marriage last month (hence the items listed in the title). Thankfully, he’s been feeling really well lately, and hell I am living it up while I can. 🙂

He even planned our weekend celebration in Yosemite (first time ever!). What a beautiful, magical place (even for out-of-shape pudgers like ourselves). We had a great time, but now we’re back onto a new program: detox and exercise. Hope to be back in tip top by my birthday next month. Fingers crossed. No games.