So This is Christmas ...

Time for the clean up crew to get to work. Happy Holidays !!

Brian and Kayliegh inspecting their latest gift.

Kendall is very happy to receive her handmade jewelry purse from Auntie Jenée. And look, it doubles as a hat. Who has more fun than us?

Katie and Garrett seem very pleased with the deck of cards I gave them. How was I to know they were used?! Big deal, so they're a little sticky and the 10 of hearts is missing. It's the thought that counts.

It's time for passing out the gifts and my favorite part - receiving!

Brother-in-law Brian Horn is a big USC supporter. That's why his T-Shirt says "My maid went to UCLA". Collegiate humor - the best.

The tree is all set to go. Oh yeah, it's trimmed. I never understood that term - trimmed? The turkey is also trimmed. What's up with that?

... and a Happy New Year. Lookie here, change out the 'ole table cloth from Thanksgiving and Presto! You got Christmas.

Hanging with our friends

A wonderful end to our weekend with a visit from our friends Marc and Louise. Louise keeps fighting the fight against her brain cancer and is doing great. Here she is modelling a variety of hats

No really Jim, the painting looks good. Bwaaaa-haa-ha-ha. Bwaaa.....

But one. This is Jenée and can you guess? Look closely. Yep, it's me. I'm thinking I'm looking a tad Butthead in this painting. September has this painting front and center in her home/studio. Good news is Beavis and Butthead are back on TV with a new series, so I got that going for me.

Ah-huh-huh, Ah-huh-huh, Cool. Boi-oi-oi-ing! Ah-huh-huh.

Now we move on to one of Laguna Beach's finest local artists - September. September released paintings of our model Jenée (shown in this blog Sept 28, 2010). All the paintings sold! The look on Tina's face says it all.

Pottery is drying - no danger here.

Ric has a more hands on approach. Similar results - effective.

Jenée and Ric are checking out the glass blowing exhibition. I thinks Jenée is smiling because this is a great shopping place. My technique is to not panic and let my love of my life stroll at her hearts content. Cool thing is Jenée can shop and not buy anything and be very happy- even cooler.

While in our old neighborhood, Jenée and I took Tina and Ric to the Sawdust Festival. It's an annual holiday event that exhibits the work of local artists. Quite cozy.

Tough to believe this is December. Man we be lovin' SoCal.

We heard from our friends Ric and Tina from S/V Synchronicity. We meet Ric and Tina last March while sailing on Green Turtle Is. (Bahamas). We had a great time with them boating so why not catch up again on land. Very convenient as they have a home in Palm Springs. Here we are in Laguna Beach on a beautiful day. Ric and Tina will be heading back to the Bahamas and their catamaran in January to continue their sailing adventure.

Turkey Day Celebration

Jenée's beautiful table is on display. Great time with family and friends.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Hey, lookie here. Cap'n Jimbo is trying to remember how to fire up the stereo. You know it's a fail when finally someone says "we don't need music". Brian's showing his form taking a swing at my ass. Actually, his weight is too far back in his stance. I think we're looking at a classic slice.

That's nice.

Now get back to work and make my dinner!

Sheri, Jenée and Katie provide a lovely holiday picture.

Perhaps you will remember our niece Kayleigh, with friend Andy. Kayleigh sailed with us from Belize to Key West and was a great first mate.

My beautiful bride took time out from the preparations to smile for the camera.

Let's get a closeup of the guest of honor, which we'll soon eat. Garrett has his secret recipe for doing the bird on the grill - fantastic. Brother in law Brian Horn is down for moral support.

Yes, it's that time of year in the Fraine household. Time to fill up with the highest calorie food on the face of the earth! And when we polish that off, it's time for dessert. Just look at this hard working crew.

Get Your Motor Running ...

Our destination today (Sunday) is the Rose Canyon Cantina. This is a neat Mexican grill in the SoCal countryside. A great ride!

We caught up with our almost newlywed friends, Dennis and Lori Puddester. Denny and I have been riding together well over 10 years. Great to catch up.

It was a great day for riding around SoCal.

Jenée changes from swimsuit to riding clothes.

Well, if you can't go sailing - go riding. This is my 1991 Harley Davidson Softail FLSTC. I bought this in 1993 and got a lot of great riding in her. Unfortunately, not much in the last 2 years. We got home, changed out the oil and gas and she's running like a champ.

Hello Land Lubbers - We're Back in the US of A !

Frank's manning the John Deere - I'm just staying out of the way. Absolutely wonderful visit over the weekend with Mom and Dad. Love them dearly and the weather was perfect.

Now that's a nice finish! That's boat training for you.

Frank put me to work - refinishing the front rails. This home used to be the summer cottage all 9 Fraine kids grew up in. Now it's a fully winterized home with one spare bedroom. Mommy and Daddy ain't no dummies!

Time to PARTY! Yes! No better place than with Mom and Dad in Green Harbor. I'm reviewing my treatment, unfortunately the Patriots are on TV. I'll just wait til halftime.

Cap'n Jimbo travelled back to Boston for his 12 month check up. Checked out cancer free! These are our buddies Mark and June Goyette. Mark and I shared a room at the Boston University Medical center, both going through neck cancer. Mark had a much tougher go than me with multiple surgeries and treatments. I'm happy to say he is cancer free as well.

Front Row Parking

Jungle moves into her parking spot. Check out the Admiral hitching a ride in. We are at the Shipyard in Cyprus. We're very impressed with Nicos and his family's work. Great guys, great yard!

Land Ho!

Jungle is in her final resting spot, where she'll stay for the next 6 months. A little touch up here and there and we'll be back on the Med. Yassou Kypros. (Goodbye Cyprus - for now)

We even had time for a wadrobe change!

Quite a system the yard employs - it works.

Jenée is getting a free ride.

Yeah, Nicos has done this before.

Oh well, time to take Jungle out of the water. OK boys, we've done this before, right?

Did I mention the concert began at 11:45 PM and ended after 5AM. And not a word of English was spoken or sung. I found shoving a fork into my eye sockets helped me to stay awake. Helpful party tip - no charge. Honestly, a great time for us.

That night we were invited to a mini concert - Greek style. This is Demetris good friend Alex - great guy. He and Demetris competed as high jumpers throughout high school and college (in the US). This is Despina Olimpiou, famous Greek singer, who happens to be Alex's cousin. She was great! She invited Alex up to sing a duet and our boy nailed it. Very impressive.

Lenka and Jenée enjoyed the opportunity to catch up. Lenka flew back to Abu Dhabi the next day.

This is Debbie, owner of the restaurant we enjoyed. This sweet ladie gave us a ride to pick up our car which was in town.

I can't get enough of them Jungle shots!

Did I mention Demetris pulled his calf muscle - big time. I prescribed medication which he is taking here. Good patient.

The weather was perfect - still summery. Demetris and Lenka set a nice pose in front of Jungle.

Back to the beach! We sailed back to Ladies Mile for our final week on the water, for 2011.