Meet the new additions to the family. Bruno and Mali
Kelly and the CSUEB water polo girls are having a great year. Starting the season ranked number 3 behind two so-cal teams, The team is doing really well so far. They’ve already beaten a couple of Division one schools and haven’t lost a game they should’ve won. Kelly already has more goals than she scored all last year. She is getting more playing time and making the most it. We went to an “all-important” game this last Friday. At the CSUEB pool, the pioneers hosted arch rival UC Santa Cruz in a match that would determine who is #2 in the nation for division III schools. By some fluke, the “SLUG GIRLS” from Santa Cruz beat last years champion and were able to move up 8 spots in the polls. So the Friday game was a MUST. Excitement filled the air. Lots of fans in the stands. Plenty of slug parents made their way over the hill to see the slug girls play their most important game ever. I don’t think UCSC has ever been ranked higher than 6th.
Turned out to be a great game. We ended up winning a nail-biter 9-8. We started off strong and had a 5-2 lead in the second quarter. Kelly had a monster block in the 2nd quarter that thwarted a slug attack. The slugs battled their way back however, and even went ahead by one and led 8-7. Our girls played great all game long and eventually went ahead 9-8 with 2 minutes to play. Slug girls were pressing hard. Knowing they needed a goal to send the match into overtime. Thats when Kelly made the DEFENSIVE PLAY OF THE DAY by stealing the ball and advancing it to the other side of the pool. SO SWEET!! Then it was a matter of running out the clock.
The poll comes out this week and will show CSUEB as #2 behind Pomona. The girls play Pomona on Saturday. WOOHOO!! With the monster block and the game ending steal, Kelly Flaherty is named jimsjoint’s defensive player of the game! Way to go Kel
The thing about dogs is, I was never really a dog person. When I was a kid we never had dogs. We had cats. In the neighborhood growing up there was puddles, an old dog who belong to grandma Tice. Gomer, who belonged to John Rezzonico, and the (never stop yapping) Pomeranians who belonged the the Chinese sisters. I don’t have any bad memories of dogs, other than the time the Pearson’s got a Scottish terrier and it bit me when we were playing basketball in their backyard.
How did I become a dog person?
When we got married, and bought a house, our realtor offered us a pure bread cocker spaniel pup as a house warming present. New marriage, new house, new dog. INSTANT FAMILY! It just fell into place. Our first dog was named Apollo. Soon after we got/bought Kira as a playmate. When Apollo got snippy around the girls when they were little, we adopted him out. SEE YA! For many years it was just Kira and the cats. Kira was a great great dog.
Faithful loyal and true. Knew what to do and when to do it. When she got old and her hearing went out, she would know instinctively, or by sign language, what to do. We got Niya (ANOTHER GIFT!) when Kira was in her golden years. She taught Niya the ways of the house. One of my fav pictures in Kelly, Kate, Kira, Niya and Luke. It shows old lady Kira and young pup Niya just months before we had to say goodbye to Kira. The hardest thing that 
I’ve ever had to do in my life was decide that it was the right time to put Kira down. It was hard for all of us. Niya in the meantime has become a great dog too! She has become my dog. My office dog. with me every day at work. Rain or shine. You may even remember a few short months ago, we rescued a dog (sit Jasmine, sit) that ended up going back to her owner. Jasmine was another great dog who I was sad to see go.
I had become a dog person.
Anyway, I figured it was just a matter of time before some canine caper or calamity would be bestowed upon the Flaherty house.
Sure enough, this last weekend, after being totally relaxed and in great moods from our GOOD VIBES east coast swing, Kate, with cohort and fellow pet lover Sammy, come in the house with what Barb first thinks is a white rat. “GET THAT OUT OF MY HOUSE” she yells, only to discover that the rat is actually a puppy. A small (very small) rat like puppy. Upon closer inspection the rat pup is actually a very (very) small chihuahua-pekingese pupper. A cute little pork bellied, pink nosed pupper. 
Kate said that his name was Bruno. Oh great. He already has a name. All excited she explains that a co-worker got one and they are really cute and they are really inexpensive and she’s always wanted one and they are JUST SO CUTE!! Barb says that she doesn’t like boys in the house because they lift there legs on the furniture. Kate explains that the boy was JUST SO CUTE but they do have a girl pup left. Before you could say “chihuahua-pekingese”, Barb, Kate and Sammy were gone, and then back with the girl pup. Even smaller than fatboy Bruno. WA-WA-WHAT?!?!? Two dogs? What is happening here? Things are moving too quick. I’m still on Florida time!! HOLD ON A MINUTE! Its all lovey dovey between the girls and the CUTEST LITTLE PUPPIES THAT YOU EVER DID SEE!! So we have two new dogs now? Yes.
Ok. I’m screwed. But so is Lulu. Niya on the other hand seems to like the little ones, always wagging her tail and sniffing them up when they are out and about. Still have to be careful with both Niya and Lulu because these two are way too young to fend for themselves. 
Truthfully, the pups were probably too young to leave their momma. But momma had dried up. They needed tender loving care and where better than casa de Flaherty? Kate and Barb are bottle feeding these two. In the few days they have been here they have started to eat , play and sleep like puppies. And darnit if I didn’t start to fall for the little buggers. Bruno is a fatty. Sleeps and eats and conserves energy. He has a beautiful white coat. For the last few years Barb has talked 
about getting a little dog that she could call “Little Miss Molly”. The more modern version is cooler. Mali is the girl and a real rabble rouser. She is smaller but kicks Bruno’s ass! Full of piss and vinegar and cute as a button. More of a sandy coat and looks like a mini-Labrador.
The thing about dogs is, that if you are not a dog person, they can make you one.
Just back last night from a much needed vacation. Four days visiting the Champagne Crew in Pittsburgh, then four days in Ft. Lauderdale to see Barb’s Auntie Irene and Cousin Cindy. Details to follow.
Went up to my old school Saturday night. OLPH, Top of the Hill, Daly City! They have an annual dinner/silent auction to raise money for the school. The dinner has turned into a good reason to get together with old classmates. I guess other classes have been doing this for years. Had nine classmates from the 8th grade class of 1973 show up for the dinner. What a blast from the past! It was so great to see faces that I havent seen in 35 years. Exciting and strange, and fun! I must say, we are a pretty good looking bunch of (almost) 50 year olds.
Mom turned 93 yesterday!! Surrounded by her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren, we feasted on pizza, cupcakes and brownies. Mom looks pretty good for 93.
Her memory is not what it was but she looked like she was enjoying herself, especially with all the kids running around. It was a good time had by all. When we all got together for her 90th three years ago, we figured it may be her last. Now we are just going to plan on have a 100th birthday celebration in 2015.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM. WE LOVE YOU!
We know that we won’t be able to just wake up on September 17th and hike to the top of Half Dome. There will be some prep work involved. We know we need to do plenty of “hill work” before September. The plan is to (at some point) do a “double traverse ” of Mission Peak. Meaning, hike to the top from Ohlone side, decend to the Stanford side, then up again and back down the Ohlone side. That will be about 14 miles of hiking and almost 4000 feet of “gain”. Similar to what we will do at Half Dome.
We’ve already been walking the creek trail to break in our new hiking shoes. The weather has been perfect for hiking so on Saturday we decided to try to make it to Mission Peak on Sunday. A no pressure to finish type hike, considering this was Barb’s first real test since she ended chemo in December. If we made it to the top, great. If not, no biggie.
Hooked up with Steve, who brought along his dogs and away we went. Turns out that the only thing that would try to keep Barb off the peak was the wind. Never has it been so windy! A blistering wind. A cutting wind. A very windy wind! BUT WE MADE IT NONE THE LESS!
Up top and hunkered on the west side away from the wind, we had an apple, banana and granola bar, rested a bit then made our way down.
Our vacation started with a 8:15am flight from Oakland to Pittsburgh, with a short lay over in Las Vegas. Kate drove us to the airport and we watched the sun rise over Mission Peak. The travel day brought us to the Steel City right around dinner time. Al and Tanya picked us up at the airport and we headed to their home. A beautiful place in Mt. Lebanon, just minutes from downtown Pittsburgh. Our four day visit was just what we were looking for. Lots of time to kick back and relax, and spend some quality time with the Champagne crew.
Al and Tanya are old time friends who we’ve really missed since they moved and settled into east coast life. The whole time we were on vacation, we stuck to California time, meaning we slept in and stayed up late! Whether it was dinner out or cooking in, it was all good with us. We had great fun just visiting, reminiscing, and having good times. Tanya took us for a “power walk” one brisk morning. We walked the neighborhood checking out all the old style brick and stone houses. Beautiful homes that were built for the steel company execs decades ago.
We went to see kid#4 play a championship basketball game. The frantic pace was incredible and the score was close, but the “Lebo” boys couldn’t hold off the cross town rivals and had to settle for 2nd place. Jake played a great game. Barb would adopt him in a second if she could. The perfect son as far as she is concerned.
Barb and I took a couple of walks by ourselves. On one outing we walked to “uptown” and checked out all the shops. We stopped at St. Bernard’s Catholic church and said a prayer. Had a coffee at a local coffee shop and even walked right smack into a rally for the “Lebo” girls high school basketball team, who were heading off to the state championships at Penn State. There was a fire engine with balloons and half the town lined up outside a grammar school to send the girls to “state” with a rousing send off. Very cool small town stuff. Gave both Barb and I goose bumps as we watched the girls board the bus to cheers from the hometown fans.
We did get a tour of downtown, and the greater Mt Lebanon area, buts thats not why we were there. We were there to see Tanya and Al and the kids. Whether it was bagels for breakfast or spaghetti for dinner, just hanging was like old times. The time did pass too quickly. The “crew” was getting ready for their annual spring break trip to California, so we all spent our final night in Pittsburgh at the airport Hyatt. Room service dinner and cocktails and then good night. The crew was off early for the west coast and we were off to sunny Florida.
Thanks to Al and Tanya for the hospitality, the good times and the good vibes. We brought along some good vibes wristbands for them and whoever needed them. We felt the good vibrations coming from the east all the while Barb was going through what she was going through. Friends, like wine, are better old, and we cherish our old friends more than anyone can know.
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Caught the afternoon flight from Pittsburgh, with a short lay over in Baltimore, and arrived in Ft. Lauderdale around 9:30 pm. Even at night it was about 40 degrees warmer than Pittsburgh. Barb’s cousin Cindy and Auntie Irene picked us up at the airport. On the way to Cindy’s she told us that her daughter, son-in-law, and new (6 week old) grandson were at the house. This was a nice surprise since Melissa, Mike and Hunter lived in Georgia and were leaving the next morning. I think we kept everyone up way too late that first night. Good to see Melissa and meet Mike and Hunter. I hadn’t seen Melissa since she was a little girl and now she has a little one herself. Hunter, only 6 weeks old, is one cute kid. We also met Cindy’s Jim. A great guy. A great cook. A great name. Jim and Cindy welcomed us into their home and made us feel welcomed and comfortable. So comfortable that we didn’t want to leave!
Our first day there, Jim took us out on one of his boats. We cruised the inter coastal. Sipped a bloody and couldn’t believe we were finally in Florida. cruised to lunch at the DownTowner. 
After lunch and a cocktail, it was a slow cruise back, just checking out all the boats, yachts, homes and people. It was something else. I could smell the money in the air! Money money money mo-ney – MONEY! Jim pointed out a HUGE $50 million yacht that Jimmy Dean had once owned. Plus there were hundreds of others either cruising or parked in front of multi-multi million dollar cribs. Didn’t see too much spring break action, but there were plenty of people around. Traffic was crazy and so were the drivers. Lets just say you have to be aggressive or they’ll chew you up and spit you out.
The weather was great. Around 80 everyday! Another thing that was great was the food. Jim is a great cook. “Boat” chicken and salad one night, stone crab and slaw the next, and pasta pomadoro the next. MAMA MIA thatsa good! All good and all good for you! 
Still want to get a couple of those secret recipes. Another thing that was nice? The cocktail hour never seemed to end. I know it was because of us being there on vacation and all, but I wouldn’t want to try to keep up with this bunch on a Friday or Saturday night! Jim and Cindy. The Silver Bullet and “Club Soda” Cindy. We love you guys!!!
On stone crab night, Cindy’s son Kacy and his girlfriend Kellie came over for dinner. Last time I saw Kacy he was a young boy of 12. Now he’s 32 and a man. Kellie is a keeper. Smart, cute and funny. The tri-fecta of love! Barb says they could pass for Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, and I’d have to agree.
Other than the food, the drink, the fun, and the fam, it was great afternoons in the backyard, lounging by the pool or soaking in the hot tub, or evenings watching Dancing with the Stars on the backyard flat screen! ITS FLORIDA BABY!!! Loved that backyard! Totally cool palms of every kind. Nice pool. Nice tub. Orchid garden, lizards….the works! And did I mention the flat screen? Nothing like watching NASCAR while sipping a jack and soaking your tootsies in the tub!
More than anything, and most of all, we got to spend some quality time with people we love. Just hanging Cindy, and Auntie I,and now Jim, was the best. Good Vibes!
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