MrAndrewBradley

It was another fun Thanksgiving at the Bradley Lodge . Between watching Luke explore the woods and hang out around the lodge, finishing cutting the massive tree into pieces , planting new trees, getting things cleaned up and ready for winter and of course eating we were busy, but found time to relax, play pinochle and enjoy our last weekend before the family cruise . In between eating and everything else, I also found some time to get to the Camp Connell General Store to do some work and my brother, sister in law and I also went to Erin and Eric's new house that is under construction, it will be awesome when it is all done in a few months. Then on my way to San Jose for work on Saturday, I decided to stop by my old church in Livermore ( Cornerstone Fellowship ) to see if they had a Saturday night service (they didn't when I went there) and they did, so I even got to go to church :-). Now I am about to leave for stop number one of the two week California Partnership for Pres...

As I write this I have just 10 days until I embark on Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas with family and friends for " Christmas Cruise 2008 ." Here's the breakdown: me, my mom, my dad, my grandma, my brother, his wife and my nephew (their son) . Next it's my mom's sister and her husband (my aunt and uncle) and their two daughters. After that you have my uncle's parents and one of their grandchildren. If you are not confused yet ... my sister-in-law's mom is coming with my sister-in-laws sister (and her husband) and brother. Finally, (and I hope I'm not missing anyone), the sister-in-law's mother's fiancé and his two children. But before I fly to Miami , there is Thanksgiving at the Bradley Lodge with the first seven people mentioned above, a Partnership for Prescription Assistance bus tour in the San Francisco Bay Area ( San Jose , San Francisco , Oakland and Fremont ), going to see First Covenant Church's " An Evening...

I went to a family wedding at the Paradise Ridge Winery in Santa Rosa . It was a beautiful setting overlooking rolling hills and vineyards. The cake was designed and made by someone who has made cakes for Oprah and other celebrities, it was amazing, and the wedding was great, featuring many children known by the bride and groom. Congratulations to Dave Blake Edwards (my brother's name + cousin's husband's name + my dad and uncle's name) and the new Erin Edwards.

I went to my first film festival, the 7Cs Moving Pictures Film Festival , tonight. It was great to see the creativity of some of the local film makers that are part of Bayside's 7Cs Digital Film School . Although I thought " Thumpity Thump " was one of the best, another very good (and silent) 30-minute film named " Hatched " was the festival's winning short film.

Sometimes we just forget to remember the sacrifices of those who have served our country, our Veteran's . It is difficult for many of us to imagine the horrors of war, the images that are ingrained in their minds for a lifetime. All we can do is simply say “thank you.” Thank you to the hundreds of thousands who have served, who have lain down their lives and to those who still serve. To those soldiers who keep our country safe and who continue to fight for our freedoms that never come without a cost. Thank you.

Well, it might seem like a great thing, when the 15 day cruise you are on gets extended by a day. Unfortunately, it was because some person on the cruise (average age 112) had some sort of a medical emergency as the boat was a few hundred miles outside of Hawaii on its way back to California. So the cruise will be coming home a day later than expected. What does all of this mean? I had to rebook my parents flights at Southwest (which originally meant upgrading to a full fare flight, but I just got off the phone with Southwest and they were willing to waive the additional fee - thank you Southwest!) and figure out how to get my parents from the airport to their house if I'm not in town. All of that, really isn't too bad, the worst part is the Celebrity Mercury might be infected with the Norovirus . That basically means that most public areas of the ship are closed and most of the activities are canceled. The good part, everything that you might normally do yourself (or want...

The first real storm of the season is in progress. Here are a few pictures from around the house.