Halloween Has Arrived!

Posted on Friday, August 30, 2024 by Paul

Yes, we know it is not even September yet, but we are in the mood for the holiday season to begin.  Last night, Robin and Mary started the yearly calendar coordination activities as we have to plan for:

  • Halloween pumpkin carving and the Halloween Elks Ball, decorating, etc.
  • Thanksgiving, Starlighters Around The World, Chinese Nights at the Huntington, etc.
  • Christmas, Scrooge, Night of 10,000 Lights, Elks Ball, Mission Inn,  Alley Cats, etc.

So, at 6:30 am, we were up and getting ready to go.  Robin was already up and moving before us.  We headed out for our adventure around 8:15 am to get there when they opened!

There was a line already formed when we arrived!

Remember, “Life’s a witch, and then you fly!”

We spent what felt like 45 years standing in line before we finally made it into the boutique. By the time we got there, my feet were ready to retire!

We had a lot to look at while waiting in the moving line.

Finally, we arrived at the entrance! And by “finally,” I mean after taking about 100 wrong turns and getting lost at least thrice. I’m sure we set a new record for the longest journey from the parking lot to the entrance. Thank goodness we packed snacks!

Mary met Roger’s White Witch just before we went inside!

We are about to enter.  Remember, demons are a ghoul’s best friend.

We hope we get out alive!

Inside was a veritable cacophony of Halloween decorations!

We were glad we brought a cart along with us.

We strolled, chatted, and splurged for a good 90 minutes and somehow managed to only spend $400! Our bargain-hunting skills look as practical as those of a cat-herding class!

Mirror mirror on the wall, how do we escape this place??

We decided to have lunch at the American Legion on the Balboa Peninsula since it was just five minutes away!

The kitchen opened at 11:30 am.

We had a drink before ordering.  We hoped we could handle our boos.

We have so much fun together! We wished Colleen were here!

We peered at the boats while on the pier.

We walked out on the pier before jumping in The Silver Fox to drive home.

After getting home, we went to see David in the hospital and visited with Dianne.  We brought her a burrito and Diet Coke, her go-to lunch!  David is likely to go into hospice in the next few days, so we plan to go into high gear and make sure we can do everything Dianne might need.

Returning home, we got dressed for Campus Jax, where we were going to meet Jim and Vicky, Ed and Betty, and several others at 6:30 for dinner and to watch Santana’s soft music!

Let’s say the music was not as “soft” as expected!

We left halfway through the performance as our ears were exploding. Vicky, Jim, Ed, and Betty also left early.

We stopped by Aces Bar and Grill and had a nightcap before facing Scout The Wonder Dog.

Posted in Adventures, Dining Out, Family, Fun, Holidays | Leave a comment

Let’s Go, Chop Chop!

Posted on Thursday, August 29, 2024 by Paul

It’s 0-Dark Thirty, and we’re up and about, getting ready for our voyage to see the doctor in Long Beach. It’s so early; even the roosters are hitting the snooze button!  We departed Casa Valencia at 6:50 am and hit the 55 freeway about five minutes later.  The freeways were clear, and we landed in Long Beach half an hour early.

We had 30 minutes to spare, so I did the most logical thing—I went to Micky D’s for a breakfast Mac and a latte. Why waste precious minutes on anything but a breakfast of champions, right?

We arrived at the office on time only to find out our trusty scheduler was not so trustworthy!  She forgot to put us on the schedule.  Oh my!   We decided to wait and fall between bis booked appointments, and it worked out.   By 10 am, he cut into my head and removed a hunk of cancer, sending it off to make sure the margins were clean.

The Turkey is in position for being carved!

Thank goodness for the shot to kill the pain!

I am such a cut-up!

The margins were clear, meaning they got all traces of the cancer, so I was up and out the door by 11:15 am. At that time, we pointed the Silver Fox south toward Santa Ana to get to Girl’s Night Out before noon. I set a new record for the fastest exit!  It’s like I was competing in the “Leaving Work Olympics”!

At the Elks, we met up with the gang, minus Bill Capps, who was at home attending to his bride, who had some medical issues. George was with us but departed early to get home and dine on his dessert before Beverly got to it!

So lovely to be with friends!  (Bob & Will, Mary & Iris)

Bob Z got the camera to prove I was there.  It’s hard for us to keep a straight face because of the teasing going back and forth!

Another successful “Girls Night Out” adventure!

Bob played with the iPhone camera controls and created a super B&W image. Does this look like a two-hundred seventy-five-year-old group?

We might look better in B&W.

We stopped at the electronics store to rescue Marsha Brander from her TV-induced boredom. We picked out a shiny new TV, brought it home, and eagerly turned it on—only to be greeted with a scene from a 1980s science fiction movie.

All the channels looked like they were playing the same show, and the characters were so blurry we thought it was a covert operation instead of a TV broadcast. It was like watching TV without glasses on! Our rescue mission turned into a swift return mission.

When we got home, Mary took a short nap, and I took out the trash barrels and made a small video of the garden, as our trainer had requested.

Note: The following video is almost 100MB long, so it may take a few seconds to load!  Our personal trainer wanted to see our garden.  The video is about five minutes long.

We worked around the house until Robin joined us at 5:00 pm.  She is staying overnight, so we can go to Roger’s Gardens tomorrow morning to start Halloween!

After we talked to Vicky and Colleen on the bat phone, we realized it was Hannah’s birthday!

Hannah is Paul’s niece, the daughter of Diane, Sue’s sister. We called Hannah, but she was out and about, so Mary, Robin, and I sang “Happy Birthday” to her on her answering machine!

We had a small dinner before heading to Jeff’s for a visit. We got the menu for Jeff’s upcoming party and headed home.  Our house is easy to find as we have Govee lighting on the house.

The app, hosted on our iPhones, allows myriad effects and 64,000,000 colors!

We decided to run random lighting tonight, but we will change it to Halloween effects in a week!

While walking home, Hannah texted us to thank us for the birthday greeting.  She also revealed that I AM GOING TO BE A GREAT UNCLE AGAIN!  Hannah is four months along, as evidenced by the following:

I am feeling old!

A few years ago, Hannah and Jon (our oldest grandson) were little kids.  Jon is 35 now and living with his beautiful wife, Sarah, in New Hampshire.

They used to be afraid of the Easter Bunny!

Both my nieces are now mommies!  Wow, life sure changes!  We will see the girls in September or October to celebrate a birthday and again when Hannah’s baby comes in January.

Hannah, Diane (my sister-in-law) and Lisa

Returning home, we hit the sack early because tomorrow is the big day! Scout was ready for bed this evening!

“OK, Pops! It’s time for you to go to bed!”

Posted in Doctor, Elks, Family, Friends, Working Around House | Leave a comment

Hump Day Has Arrived!

Posted on Wednesday, August 28, 2024 by Paul

We enjoyed our morning coffee!

The alarm went off, and we were up like shots. I got my exercise in, just trying to get into my sweatpants! That’s one way to start the day with some unexpected morning cardio!

By 8:15 am, we were dressed and ready to battle with our trainers!  I assumed the position of most minor pain, lying on the floor!  He jumped me and bent my legs into a pretzel.  I was not worried until I saw my right knee whiz by my left ear and the sound of crunching bones!

After the gym, we headed home to get bandaids and other first-aid goodies.    Then we did our Wednesday house cleaning activity to ensure the house was clean for the house cleaners!

I remembered the first rule of house cleaning while listening to music: the toilet brush is never the microphone.

Domi arrived, and we took off to do our chores.   But first, I told her, “Both of us can’t look good at the same time; it’s me or the house.”

Michaels is a great place to shop for DYI artsy-fartsy items.  Michaels Stores, Inc., more commonly known as Michaels, is a privately held chain of American and Canadian arts and crafts stores. It is North America’s largest provider of arts, crafts, framing, floral and wall décor, and merchandise for makers and do-it-yourself home decorators.

Shopping at Michaels is always fun!

We looked carefully at the skeletons that were already out for Halloween.  Kinky little suckers they were!

Oops!

We had to get this one because that is how we feel when using the derned computer. Who knew that pressing a bunch of buttons could be so emotionally draining?

How Mary and I feel when using the computer!

We took a detour on the way home and made a pit stop at Ralph’s Market to stock up on some dinner treats. Because let’s be honest, what’s a meal without a side of spontaneous grocery shopping, right?

Mary told me about her desire to attend medical school and what happened during the entrance exam!

No kidding!

Mary cooked a great dinner, and while she went to the kitchen, Scout (The Wonder Dog) and I played in the family room.  I got down, put my nose next to his, and then woke him up!   He was a bit startled.  After a few minutes of me scratching him, we wanted me to stay!

Scout wanted me to stay!

We had dinner and then attempted to save the world on Jeff’s front porch! It turns out that the world’s fate is best discussed over chardonnay and old scotch!

Returning home, we went into the swim spa and soaked for 45 minutes before bed.  Tomorrow, Paul has to get two surgeries on his face to remove bad stuff.    Our appointment in Long Beach is at 8:00 am, so we will be up and running at 5:30 am.

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Tuesday Has Arrived And We Have A Blank Day!!

Posted on Tuesday, August 27, 2024 by Paul

We worked in the garden since it was Tuesday and the calendar was blank!  Oh my, blank?

Mary worked hard trimming the backyard roses and feeding them with Rose Food. She even gave them a pep talk to encourage better blooming. She also played some smooth jazz for them, but I wonder if they appreciated it. She also had to deal with those sneaky weeds that kept popping up like unwanted guests at a party. After three solid hours of work, we were both as wilted as the roses in the blazing sun!

I finished organizing the garden potting bench and put the final touches on the HeShed! All the tools, cords, gloves, and other goodies are now in labeled plastic containers, and the six bags of garden additives are put away!

It was another scorching day today, so we retreated into the haven of the house by 11:00 am. I guess we’ll have to work on our tans by the refrigerator light instead!”

The call of the Eggplant finally got to Mary as they sat at the table when we watched TV.

Why did the eggplant go to the doctor? Because it had a bad case of the blues!

We pulled out a recipe and studied it well.  First thing first, cut the suckers in half and score the tops!  Scoring makes sure the olive oil penetrates down into the flesh!

Why did the eggplant go to school? To get a little more “cultivated.”

Then comes Mary’s Secret Sauce, which contains a lizard’s leg, an owlet’s wing, and a dragon’s scales. This concoction is mixed with olive oil and spread on the eggplant.

Why did the eggplant go to the doctor? It was feeling a little seedy!

The eggplants are turned over face down on the baking sheet and cooked at 350 degrees until the skin turns brown and the beautiful purple color disappears. After they become tender, as evidenced by poking them with a fork, they are again turned over and topped with marinara sauce, fresh basil, and grated cheese.

Time to get hot!

One day, two eggplants, who were best friends, were walking together down the street. They stepped off the curb, and a speeding car came around the Eggplanter and ran one of them over. The uninjured eggplant called 911 and helped his injured friend as best he could.

The injured eggplant was taken to the emergency at the hospital and rushed into surgery. After a long and agonizing wait, the doctor finally appeared. He told the uninjured eggplant, “I have good news and bad news.

The good news is that your friend is going to pull through.” “The bad news is that he’s going to be a vegetable for the rest of his life.”

Why did the eggplant turn red? Because it saw the salad dressing!

Five minutes later, dinner is served. We were shocked at how excellent the food was, considering Mary claimed no cooking experience with eggplant. We both went back for seconds and even contemplated hiding some for later. We had corn on the cob as a side dish, basically our excuse to eat more butter.

Eggplants make eggscellent dishes.

After dinner, we called Robin and coordinated our Friday adventure to Roger’s Gardens for the first day of their yearly Halloween boutique. Knowing Robin, we might end up trick-or-treating at the garden center instead of shopping for decorations!

We are heading south to Roger’s on Friday morning!

After the video call, I cleaned the kitchen while Mary continued working on her needle-point creation.

Robin was practicing for Halloween early!

We are now into season five of the seven-season Seal Team, and we stayed up until 11:00 p.m. watching the series.

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Oh No! We Are Facing Another Week!

Posted on Monday, August 26, 2024 by Paul

Oh my! This here is a true dilemma!

Scout, The Wonder Dog, needed to be out this morning around 4:00 am, so I slithered out of bed, crawled across the floor, reached for the door lock, and sent him out.  The little turd wanted a drink of water and forgot we had a bowl inside!   I was therefore wide awake and returned to the office for about 90 minutes doing computer work.

Finally at 7:00 am I awoke and Mary was already up and fixing coffee.  We visited the garden for just a few minutes before having to get ready to go!

Mary in jer gardening costume!

She reminded me we had a gym session today!  So I moved in front of the mirror and practiced before we left!

We went to the gym this morning! I got ready early!

We worked hard but I was traumatized by a five year old little girl who saw me in my purple gym outfit lifting weights and said to her mommy, “What is that big eggplant doing in the gym?”

Eggplant???  I was mortified!

After the gym we went to he bagel store since we just lost 300 calories exercising, we needed to put them back on! MAry had the “kitchen sink” protein bagel while I did my jalapeno and cheese.  When we got home I got onto the bathroom scale and said a few choice words!  Then I recalled the words I should be using when the scale lies to me!

Jeff asked if I would mind going to the doctor with him and of course I said “No Problem”.  He needed some imaging done and we drove to the office.  I was assisting my helping move his oxygen making machine and setting up the wheelchair.  It was no problem what so ever!

I suggested this be framed and put in the bathroom to scare the poo out of everyone!

The rest of the day we watched TV as I had to keep my left leg still and get it back in shape again.

At 4:45 pm to returned to the scene of last night’s crime.  We met with Mary’s “moneybags” at Renada’s Bistro for dinner.   We enjoyed a great dinner!

Returning home, we watched TV and finally crashed around 11:00 pm.

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Sunday And We Are Busy!

Posted on Sunday, August 25, 2024 by Paul

Today was carefully planned, and then it changed! We toured the garden, and I went through two bags of Miracle Grow, making sure all the newbies were well watered.

The next project is to try to tame the wild jungle that is my potting bench. Honestly, it’s like the Bermuda Triangle of gardening tools—once something goes in, it’s never seen again!

There has got to be a better way!!

We wandered through the garden and noticed our pineapple was getting along very well.  We cut off the bottom of the little bugger in January after returning from Hawaii and planted it.  If all goes well, we will have a pineapple next June (it takes eighteen months).

A pineapple plant can take up to three years to mature and produce fruit, which can take 18–20 months to harvest. A single plant can only make one pineapple per season, but it can continue to produce fruit for up to 50 years.

Pineapples are technically a collective fruit, or multiple fruits, made up of many individual berries that fuse to form a single fruit. The berries fuse to the stalk in the center as the pineapple grows, creating the hexagonal sections on the rind.

Go, baby, go!

Mary packed a “Meals On Wheels” bag, and we went to Dianne’s and delivered goodies to minimize her need to cook for herself.

We watched Navy Seals most of the afternoon, but at 4:00 pm, we stopped and went to the hospital to visit David.  He is now at UCI in Orange, a great hospital, and he is known there as he was on staff for almost 40 years.  Dr. Mary operated there and taught for 30 years.

At 6:00 p.m., we departed the hospital and headed to Renada’s Bistro, which we visit quite often. We sit down, and the staff knows what we want; no menu is needed. Bob and Donna were already there.

I know I am getting old because when I sit in a rocking chair, I can’t get it going.

Renada’s at the Orange Circle is our “Go To Place.”

Bob and Donna have been friends for many, many years.  We saw them dance in the early ’90s and thought we would never be friends because they were so good at dancing they would not want to be associated with people with two left feet.  We sat together once and have been friends ever since.   Mary has known them for almost as long.

Donna and Bob are special people.

Bob ordered the special, and I ordered whatever Bob did.  It was excellent!

While the meal was being prepared, we talked a lot about David and what the future portends for him. Having good friends with whom you can talk is an essential part of living. Donna and Bob are the greatest!

Bob and I had the special.

I know I am getting old because my knees buckle, and my belt won’t.

The manager/owner took these snaps of us just before we departed!  He always enjoys our visits, and he gets a good laugh when Bob and I are together.

Just ussins

We have had and will continue to have great adventures, God willing, and the creeks don’t rise!

Loving life.

I know I am getting old because I have quit trying to hold my stomach in, no matter who walks into the room.

When we got home, I came across an old picture and ran it through an AI image processor I use. It came out just as I remembered. I miss my father, who has been gone for 54 years. My deepest wish is to be at least half the man he was.

Yours truly and my father in 1945 (color thanks to AI)

We swung by Aces, but the parking lot was bursting at the seams, so we decided to spare ourselves the hassle and just kept on rolling. The cars were playing a never-ending game of Tetris, and we weren’t about to join in!

Home away home, we were carried by the Silver Fox.   We watered the beast (Scout the Wonder Dog) and headed to bed.

 

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I Hear Water, It Must Be Saturday!

Posted on Saturday, August 24, 2024 by Paul

Our watering systems water on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday! This morning, one of the sprinklers managed to hit the side of a wheelbarrow, which was annoying! With the touch of the phone, it was turned off; I love home automation!

Morning cometh even though the shutters were closed and locked. It was 7:00 am when we awoke to the sound of Scout doing the pee-pee dance;  he wanted outside!!

I know I am getting old: Everything hurts, and what doesn’t hurt doesn’t work.

We got our coffee (to get the heart started) and headed to the garden to inspect everything!  All was well, and I picked a half-dozen blackberries, popping them into the jaws of death; it is fun to pick and eat right from the garden.

Need we say more?

I know I am getting old because I look forward to a dull evening.

When I paid my bills yesterday, I noticed we were paying $250 for Spectrum, so I looked at the bill in detail—oh my! We decided to research what we were buying and from whom since we are in a pattern now, and everything is streaming.

We’ve arranged to meet the Duda’s at Huntington Beach since they’ll be heading to the beach. We confidently suggested Duke’s for lunch!

We had the corner seats.

I am getting old because the gleam in my eyes is from the sun hitting my bifocals.

The view was incredible!! The weather was “perfect” (if you like bright sunshine), and Mary and I took a “stroll” (more like a brisk jog to avoid getting sunburnt) on the pier to pick up some new whirligigs! The ones we bought several years ago are on their last legs (literally, they’re missing half their blades and wobbling like crazy)!

What! No beach volleyball??? Nick was disappointed!

I know I am getting old: I feel like the morning after, and I haven’t been anywhere.

Tradition returns!  Root Beer floats!  We had these at Catal in Downtown Disney for many, many years!

Nick had the audacity to check my ID to see if I was old enough. He was surprised that I had been 21 almost four times!

We took a photo before we split.  The Duda’s were returning to the beach and we headed for home.

Mary and I are collecting matching shirts these days!

Black and white returns us to yesteryear!

Looking good, but where are Colleen and Mark??

I know I am getting old because my little black book contains only names that end in M.D.

Dukes is upstairs; the view is from the pier, looking back towards land!

The burger I had was fantastic! So wine was pretty good also!

We returned home and watched TV until midnight.  We binge-watched Navy Seals while grazing in the frig for remains of Mary’s cooking outburst!

 

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The End Of The Week Has Arrived!

Posted on Friday, August 23, 2024 by Paul

We expected a hot day, so just after the daybreak, we hit the yard, emphasizing repopulating the vertical towers, fine-tuning the drip watering system on the patio, and planting some of the flowers and veggies from Thursday!

I got my marching orders from the boss, “STAY OUT OF THE SUN!”  I moved from shady spot to shady spot with the agility of a pregnant ninja elephant.

When the Sun came out, I was ordered to work only under the patio cover!

At 10:30 am, we were both inside, and I heard a horrible sound.  It was Mary who had just been bitten by the “cooking bug.”  Without missing a beat the kitchen was transformed from a calm restful place to sit into a hub of clattering dishes, rattling pots and pans, and the swishing of knives.  That meant it was time to cook!

My life is blessed with Dr. Mary, who takes a house and makes it into a home and wants to cook creative and delicious dishes for the old man to feast upon!

First, she made stuffed jalapeno peppers that we had just picked from the garden. She stuffed them with cream cheese and wrapped them in turkey bacon, and after a while in the oven, the entire neighborhood knew Mary was in the kitchen.

Double yummy!!  The turkey bacon is an excellent substiti=ute for regular bacon!

The Anaheim Chilis were split in half. Below is just the smaller group; the others are in the microwave getting steamed/softened.

Cleaned and ready to go!

Meanwhile, Mary prepared the filling.  It included the eye of a newt, the toe of a frog, the wool of a bat,  a blind worm, and the tongue of a dog.   (When Mary starts cooking Scout hides under the bed!) The aroma was overwhelming!  This gets spooned into the Anaheim chilis and then baked with cheese!

The filling is ready!

Then Mary sent me to the store (she was having a bad hair day). I returned with everything she needed, plus some other goodies, including flowers for the lady!

I could not resist!

Mary was so excited about making tomato pie that she declared, “These little guys are so fresh, I had to slap them…with a seasoning, of course!”

Did I say fresh ingredients?

Today, I learned the hard way that my curiosity should come with a warning label. It turns out that ordering plastic knives on Amazon can lead to an unexpected career as a chef. I guess my curiosity leads to new discoveries. Those knives were as sharp as razors. The only downside is that they have to be hand-washed, but that is easy!

$9.49 from Amazon!

  • Powerful But Light-Weight Workhorse in Your Kitchen: With extra sharpness and precision, the Gourmetop paring knife set of 4 is designed to help streamline kitchen prep and optimize the efficiency of smaller tasks in the kitchen—like peeling kiwis, coring apples, hulling strawberries, deveining shrimp, trimming celery, mincing and dicing garlic and so on.
  • Top-grade Stainless Steel with Food-grade Nonstick Coating: Gourmetop paring knives specially adopt premium stainless steel for its exceptional hardness and toughness. Covered by food-grade nonstick coating, the Gourmetop paring knife set gets extreme surface smoothness. No more dragging while cutting.
  • Prominent Double-bevel 15° Knife Edge for Impressive Sharpness and Edge Retention: Easily slides through veggies, fruits, and other smaller ingredients, the Gourmetop paring knife has a pointy knife tip and remains the ultra-sharpness from heel to the tip of the knife blade. Compared to most blade angles, the 15° blade angle is finer and more accurate, which produces an exceptionally sharp edge, perfect for precise tasks like deveining a shrimp or peeling a tomato.

What is impressive is that they worked exceptionally well!!!

Fresh! Oh yeah!!

Once chopped, Mary arranges them onto a pie crust, making several layers of the same, and finally covers the top with cheese. Into the oven, and an hour later, fresh tomato pie! I know tomato pie may sound odd, but it is delicious, hot or cold!

Pie in the making.

Then, on top of all that, she made homemade bruschetta.  My shopping trip to the market provided the baguettes, and our garden did the rest!  Even the garlic was from the garden!

The results! L to R: Bruschetta, tomato pie, stuffed Anaheim chilis! After we were done and went to Jeff’s, only one stuffed jalapeno remained!

After marveling at Chef Mary’s work, we finally took a seat, only to realize that a hurricane had swept through the kitchen while we weren’t paying attention. It was as if every surface had been designated a landing spot for Chef Mary’s culinary creations! It’s a good thing her cooking is better than her tidying skills!

It was obvious: it was time for Super Paul and his cleanup skills! I was watching TV and not paying any attention, and ten minutes later, the kitchen was spotless. Hurricane Mary was a  five on the hurricane scale!

We did make a mess!  I was afraid to look at the ceiling.

We went to Jeff’s at 6:30 pm and visited him for a good hour before returning home and watching TV.

We talked to Robin and decided to join her for lunch at the Huntington Beach Pier because her and Bob were going to the beach and they asked us to join them.   I am steering clear of the sun because we found two additional squamous cell cancers on my face and they are scheduled for removal this next week.

Today was amazing.  Just puttering around the house with my best friend is a beautiful experience.

Posted in Cooking, Just Us, Vegetable Garden, Working Around House | Leave a comment

Thursday Has Arrived!

Posted on Thursday, August 22, 2024 by Paul

We went picking yesterday and retrieved these baby eggplants.

Baby eggplants will be dinner tonight!

Mary planted lettuce, and I modified the sprinkler system to cover this garden area better.

Working way!

The Shishito Peppers are doing quite well, so we’ll have to invite Bob Duda over for a Pierogi and Pepper night!

Shishito Peppers are sweet and delicious when eaten raw. Blistering the outside of the pepper helps to accentuate its sweet flavor.

We have peppers

After being cooked for a few minutes, they are delicious to eat.

Yummy!

At 11:30 am, we headed for the Elks Lodge. The freeway was almost stopped, and there were red flashing lights everywhere.  Oh my!

Oops

A truck loaded with thousands of copies of Roget’s Thesaurus crashed on our way to the Elks, losing its entire load.  Witnesses were stunned, startled, aghast, taken aback, stupefied, confused, shocked, rattled, paralyzed, dazed, bewildered, mixed up, surprised, awed, dumbfounded, nonplussed, flabbergasted, astounded, amazed, confounded, astonished, overwhelmed, horrified, numbed, speechless, and perplexed.

We finally got to the Elks for Girl’s Night Out and ordered wine, which we needed after the freeway incident. All of a sudden, we heard a buzzing sound, and here came a Kamikaze Fly showing the Japanese War Flag. He dived right into the wine, head first, splashing wine all over the table.

Protein in our wine.

Mary and I played a fishy game at lunch. We were like seafood traders, swapping salmon for swordfish like it was a high-stakes fish market. Who knew lunch could be so fishily fun?

Swordfish at the Elks.

We visited Mr. Elk as we departed.

The Elks is in the center (in case you wondered)

No whistling at my legs!

We said goodbye before heading home.

We decided to stop for a glass of wine at Bejies, a NY-style deli known for its famed corned beef and pastrami sandwiches and 1960s-era decor. During our recent cruise, I discovered a gimlet, so I ordered one, and Mary tried it. The results were interesting.

The gimlet is a classic cocktail recipe similar to a martini but made with lime juice and a splash of simple syrup rather than vermouth. Traditionally served straight up, the gimlet is also refreshing on the rocks—there’s no right or wrong way to drink it!

Mary does not like my Gimlet.

Mary tried the pink iced tea and found it more suitable for her taste buds!

She does like her iced tea.

We departed Benjies and went home to rest after a big meal!  A little later, we almost returned to the scene of the crime; we went to the nursery across the street to buy a gift for a friend and to look through their delightful assortment of veggies and flowers.

We got home, and it was still hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk, so we called Jeff, our neighbor, to see if he wanted to come chill. Jeff had wisely decided to stay indoors with the air conditioning on full blast. Meanwhile, we thought, “Why not take a dip in the swimming hole?” We were having a blast splashing around like a couple of kids on a hot summer day. After a while, we noticed our skin starting to resemble prunes, so we hightailed it out of there and plopped ourselves down by the fireplace. Who says you need snow to enjoy a good fire?

We watched some TV and finally declared victory over the day and crashed!

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Hump Day Has Arrived!

Posted on Wednesday, August 21, 2024 by Paul

 

Did You Know? In North America, Wednesday is sometimes called “hump day” because it’s the middle of the work week, or the “hump.” The term has been used since at least the 1950s, and it’s often used to lighten the mood of the work week. For example, coworkers might say “Happy Hump Day” to acknowledge that work can be a drag, but they’re almost done for the week. The phrase can also express a sense of accomplishment since Wednesday is the day after completing three work days.

We started back to the gym today after nearly four weeks of absence!  Well, I must say I did not miss the crushing of bones and the pulling of tendons. It’s good to be back!  After the workout, I noticed my ability to gracefully slide into the driver’s seat of The Silver Fox was markedly improved – there is no need for a shoe horn or buttering up the seat anymore!

We are getting good at this gym stuff!

We had some plans, but Dianne called and asked if we would go to the hospital, make sure David eats lunch, and watch him while she takes care of the paperwork to get him transferred to UCI.  We were more that pleased to help!

David was alert and ready for lunch!

When we departed the hospital around 2:30 p.m., my iPhone burped and said, “I know what you were doing eight years ago!”  This was worrisome, so I pushed the button and got two pictures from the Trump Beer and Wine Festival and the Trump golf course.

Eight years ago, beautiful Amy and the beast (our son Joe) were tasting beer and wine!

We visited the event with the Zs and the kids and had a great day on the course, tasting all sorts of wine and beer.

Amy is a sweetheart!!

We returned home just in time to take a short nap of forty winks before the cleaning crew arrived. Mary went first, and I had to wake her up as her snoring was scaring Scout; he thought he was being chased by a buzzsaw!

After the crew started, we returned to Tustin and went to the Laguna Nursery. They have a lovely gift shop, and we were looking for some goodies for Donna’s birthday!

Laguna is a small nursery but packed with surprises!

We were initially planning to brave the wilds of the restaurant world, but we both needed more motivation and, let’s be honest, meals at home are always better. So, we decided to retreat to our fortress of solitude (also known as Casa Valencia) and rustle up some steak, applesauce, and a mini salad. Oh, and let’s not forget the vino! Dinner was ready faster than it takes for a pizza to arrive, and we realized we’re basically culinary superheroes. Move over, Gordon Ramsay!

The pan-seared steak was excellent!

It was so hot that we knew Jeff would be inside, so we called and said we would visit him at about 7:30 p.m. We walked the garden quickly and had to give some of our plants a little hose to dirt resuscitation as the 100-degree heat got to them!

In just a few more days of, this heat and relief will come (we hope).

We walked over  at 7:30 pm and met him at the door and we all decided it had cooled enough so we sat outside and solved the problems of the world, again!

We were back in our top-secret hideaway at 8:30 pm! My sweet tooth was causing chaos, so I whipped up my famous “spoonful” dessert!

It’s a complicated recipe: one large spoon of vanilla ice cream, a small handful of frozen blueberries, and a generous two-toot serving of diet out-of-can topping! Mary decided to go rogue and opted for a yogurt bar instead. It’s a good thing she’s not on dessert duty for our covert operation as we would be easily spotted, but the sound of the whipped cream aerosol can sounds.

It was time to swim and I joined MAry since mt wounds were healed up.

Splish-Splash, she was taking a bath!

After a dip in the pool, which was 90 degrees, we were ready to witness the heroic antics of the Seal Team as they took down the bad guys once again!

At 11:00 p.m., I closed up the house, turned on the whole house fan, made the beds ready, and watered the dog. Then, with the skill of a Ginsu knife expert on the Home Shopping Network, I approached the sleeping bear and woke her up—oh my!

Like a zombie, Mary marched down the hallway, turning right on one leg, and plopped into bed.  Thirteen microseconds later, I heard the buzz-saw go on and knew she was in for a good night’s sleep!

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