Paul & Mary's Daily Diary | My little space on the World Wide Web since 1996 where we share..

Monday Was Re-Planned!

Posted on Monday, May 23, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Most elephants weigh less than the tongue of a blue whale!

Scout and I went for a short walk, and we met a neighbor. I had to explain Scouts’ desire only to chase breadsticks!

Scout is very discriminating.

We had to get ready to exit Casa Valencia early as we needed to be in Los Alamitos at 11:00 AM to meet with Dr. Rucker, my generalist. He read the results from the blood test, and it was perfect for an older man. My cholesterol was 56! Everything else was pretty nominal.

We planned to go to lunch with Robin, but she stayed home today. On the way out, Dr. Vannatta called and canceled; we will see him Wednesday. We were supposed to see Dr. Vannatta at 2:30 PM so he could read the Nuclear Stress Test results.

So, we stopped by Staples, got an ink cartridge for the 8600, and then steered home from 22 to 55. I watered the new trees in the front yard, and Mary headed to the kitchen to make brunch. She worked on the salads for quite a while; now we know why!

Brunch time, and Mary gets creative.

Everything in the salad was from our garden. Brunch without booze is just a sad, late breakfast.

What is the chef’s favorite music to play in the kitchen? Wok n’ roll.

I love Mary’s creativity!

Our lack of a formal veggie garden this year did not stop us from planting veggies in the flower beds. The one behind Mary is enormous, and it has hundreds of blossoms on it.

Our tomatoes have gone nuts!

We are not kidding; they are taller than Mary, so we will need a step ladder when they get ripe.

Vanna White, eat your heart out!

They are taller than her!

Mary took me to the cucumbers, and they were going great. Some of them were in our brunch today, and we have to pick them every other day to keep the plant producing.

We get cucumbers every day!

We worked around the house for a while, and then Mary decided beans needed to be made. This is her famous eighteen-bean concoction, and I worked with her and chopped the ingredients up.

Time for beans.

We watched the Jesse Stone movie from last night again as we both missed some parts. Then we watched a new one called “Lost In Paradise.” Jesse’s investigation into the Boston Ripper gets complicated in “Jesse Stone: Lost in Paradise”

We then decided to make Egg Bites, a recipe from Allreceipes.com, and it looks like the ones served in Starbucks. We made two dozen of them, and we polished off four before going to bed. We were not worried since they are only 100 calories in each one.

Last week, we went to a new restaurant, and it was named ‘Out of This World?’ Because it specializes in Unidentified Frying Objects.

Egg Bites in process.

Then we watched the last of the Jessee Stone series entitled Lost In Paradise. With things running smoothly in Paradise, Police Chief Stone (Tom Selleck) agrees to serve as a consultant on an unsolved murder case in Boston. Local police suspect “The Boston Ripper,” a killer who is already behind bars, but Stone believes the murderer is a bit closer to home – setting him off on an investigation filled with surprises and grave danger.

We crashed at 10:30 PM. Good night all.

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Sunday, TIme For A Visit!

Posted on Sunday, May 22, 2022 by Paul

Fact: It is a common myth that dogs can only see in black and white. They only have two cones in their eyes to detect colors, whereas humans have three. That means dogs see colors on a blue and yellow scale but cannot distinguish between red and green. On the other hand, they have better night vision than humans. Their eyes take in information 25% faster than us, making them incredibly talented at catching a ball or frisbee.

Scout, The Wonder Dog, got up and waned outside. After watching him for a while, I decided we needed a father-son talk about his hairdo!

We have to do something about his hair!

Soon after that, Mary came into the kitchen, and we enjoyed a cup of coffee. Yesterday was gardening day, but the sky was overcast, so I did not take pictures. Today, we strolled around the pool with the camera in hand, looking at our handiwork.

The newest in our collection, the hibiscus, was looking winsome.

The flowers are lovely this time of year!

One of many flower beds surrounding the pool looked quite neat with its combination of flowers and vegetables!

The results of our gardening activities Saturday were satisfactory.

The flowers were brilliant in the morning sun. We found six more coming up in the backyard. Next year we will have to try other colors.

I don’t buy flowers from monks. I like to do my bit to prevent florist friars.

We have more growing in the yard!

Most of our flower boxes were converted to edible veggies. The two carrot boxes were well mixed with sand, and we are getting plenty of carrots for our salads.

Cooking carrots are better for you than eating raw carrots. As the most popular and widely grown member of the Apiaceae family, you want to respect the vegetable. You should get the most out of each bite by cooking them. Cooking releases the hidden pockets of good-for-you beta-carotene. In fact, eating carrots raw only gives you three percent of this substance, but when you heat them up, they release closer to 40 percent. So try these sweet vegetables puréed into soup, sliced thin onto a salad, braised in butter, baked, cooked until they are soft in a stew, and stuffed into poultry.

The boxes are loaded with carrots.

The tree below was a story. I was given this when my dear mother passed away in 1990. It was about nine inches tall, and I have kept it all these years. With Mary’s assistance, we have made the plant grow broader and taller.

This tree is over thirty years old!

The walk around our backyard takes a while because we “talk” to the plants. Mary whispers to them so the neighbors will not hear.

I did ask Mary, “What do you call a garden that is chicken-proof?” Duh, “Impeccable.”

We love our yard.

We got ready to go to Roger’s Gardens by noon as we wanted to do some shopping, and we were having lunch with Becky and Dan, Mary’s daughter. We took Jamboree from our place to Roger’s as it is a straight shot, and we avoided the freeways.

That reminded me of the other day I had to go to the doctor’s office. Mary heard a traffic report on the radio and called me, who’s is already halfway there, or so I thought. She said, “Be careful, dear; I heard on the radio that some idiot is driving the wrong way on the freeway.” I replied, “There isn’t one guy driving the wrong way; they all are!”

The first stop was the orchid room, as we were after African Violets. While most indoor plants flourish for only two to five years, the African violet flower has serious staying power. With the proper care, they can live up to 50 years! The key is to avoid over-watering, chilly temperatures, and direct sunlight.

A visit to the orchid room at Roger’s Gardens

We bought two of these little guys to take to Annie next time we travel to Banning.

We have two babies to give to Annie.

We went to The Farmhouse for lunch. We arrived a little early, so we had a glass of wine and examined the menu!

It was a perfect day to enjoy the meal and company!

They had specials today, and Mary did the egg dish that neither of us could pronounce, much less spell. It looked sensational.

Yummy!

I opted for the enchilada, and it was fantastic. It did NOT look like the enchiladas we get at the local Mexican restaurants; this one was fried and stuffed with chicken and covered with micro-greens.

Enchilada’s like I have never seen!

We had some things for Becky, so we drove them to their home about one and a half miles away. It was an excellent visit, and we made plans to do it again!

Hello girls!

Returning home, I laid down for a twenty-minute nap, and after an hour, Mary decided to go to Jan’s alone. I slept for two hours solid, which means I will not sleep well tonight.

We watched two Jesse Stone movies and finally went to sleep at 1:00 AM. The first movie was “No Remorse.” Police Chief Jesse Stone, having been suspended by the Paradise, Mass. Town Council begins moonlighting for his friend, State Homicide Commander Healy, by investigating a series of murders in Boston, leaving Rose and Suitcase to handle a crime spree in Paradise on their own. Convinced the Boston murders have a connection to the notorious crime boss, Gino Fish, Jesse pours his energy into his work in an effort to push away the professional and personal insecurities he’s avoiding at home in Paradise.

We then watched “Innocents Lost.” Jesse tries to prove the innocents of a man he feels is wrongly accused of murder while also obsessing over the death of a young girl in town.

The lights finally went out at 1:06 AM.

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Work And Play Is Really OK!

Posted on Saturday, May 21, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Anatidaephobia (ant-uh-tid-uh-fo-bee-uh) is the fear of being watched by a duck. A person with Anatidaephobia fears that a duck or a goose is watching him/her somewhere in the world.

We opened our eyes and looked toward the sky through the bedroom windows; the day was cold, just what we needed to work in the garden.

Scout was complaining about his color, but he had a positive attitude!

The Postman does not have a chance now!

Out of our jammies and into grubbies, we shot out the front door with Mary dead-heading the roses and me cleaning up the garage and working in the drip system.

Tom came over and started the patch job on the new electrical box.

The job will be done by Tuesday, and then I can call for the final inspection!

We asked Tom to investigate a nest on the patio, and he found eggs. We were careful not to touch them, and we decided to keep them for a while.

We did not toss the nest but put it back carefully.

We worked from 8:00 AM until 12:30 PM in the garden. Mary went harvesting and found the following goodies. That is pretty amazing for NOT having a real garden; these came from some pots and our flower beds!

Our harvest!

We took a two-hour nap before getting ready to dance this evening with the Starlighters at the Fullerton Elks Lodge. The theme was Tuxedos and Tiaras. It was indeed a bevy of beauties this evening.

Starlighter’s Tux & Tiara’s Dance

We visited Bill and Holly, and it was pointed out that Bill and I have identical tuxedos; no, Holly and Mary had the same dresses on, with the color being the variable.

Lookalikes; Mary & Holly.

We danced until 10:30 PM and then headed home to crash. We have another full day tomorrow.

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Friday Has Arrived!

Posted on Friday, May 20, 2022 by Paul

Fact: In the U.K. and Australia, Friday is sometimes referred to by the acronym “POETS Day,” which stands for “Piss Off Early Tomorrow’s Saturday.”

Scout looked a bit guilty when he came to the side of the bed and asked to go outside. We went about our morning business, and after being in the yard for a while, we came inside.

We cannot figure out what he has done!

I got an email out of the blue this morning, and it turns out that some of the people I graduated with in high school back 60 years ago or having an informal reunion the first week of June. I sent the invite to Lee, my high school girlfriend, and got a reply that she plans to go. I offered to have Lee come over to our house, and the three of us would go together just like we did ten years ago at the 50th reunion. It will be fun to see a few of the old people from the class of 1962.

60 Years? OMG! I am older than dirt!

We went to a furrier in Tustin to see about storing some of Mary’s furs, and then we went to TJ’s to update our stock of vino! After that, we did a fly-by at Jan’s to drop off some wine before heading west to my doctor’s office.

We got there a little early, so we stopped by Imperial Jewelers and did some birthday shopping. Success, I made some excellent choices for Mary’s birthday! We headed to The Fish Company, which was across the street from Imperial. We had a bottle of vino and some clam chowder. On the way out, we ordered a dozen oysters to feed the famous Los Almalitos Oyster Monster (LOAM). LOAM was home so we did a fly-by. We had to leave fast because the local schools were about to get out and that means traffic jam for thirty minutes.

We called the LOAM later on in the evening to check up on her.

Off to the doctor at 2:30 PM, we were on our way home by 3:15 PM. We needed to get home because Robin was coming by for dinner this evening.

We went to the local Chinese restaurant, Yang Ming, which in Chinese means, “Do NOT look at your bathroom scale in the morning; wait three days!”

Otherwise known as “The Calorie Castle.”

Returning home, we had a glass of wine before putting Robin on the road to her home. We attempted to watch a movie, but the sandman came to visit us early this evening.

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Busy Days Seem To Come More Often!

Posted on Friday, May 20, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Strange, but true: Elk can count to 10. How do we know? Scientists have noticed that when a female elk is presented with the choice between a mate with nine antler points and ten antler points, she’ll almost always select the bull with 10 points. She’spaying attention!

We got up a little early today, and Mary’s friend Maxine had the right idea! We hit the sack about 9:00 PM last night so getting up at 5:30 AM is not too bad for older people!

While working in the office, I went through the Fox News website and read some articles. This cartoon pretty much sums it up about D.C. We are in trouble, serious trouble!

Lastest, Harris quote: “We will work together, and continue to work together, to address these issues, to tackle these challenges, and to work together as we continue to work operating from the new norms, rules, and agreements, that we will convene to work together…We will work together”.

We worked in the office until it was time to clean up and go to “Girls Night out” Well, it was 10:00 AM, and Mary popped in and said, “Let’s go!”. I thought it was a bit early, but I figured we had some errands to run that I was unaware of.

As we are zip-bopping down the 55, Mary turns to me and says, “It’s only 10:30; why are we going so early?” I had no reply other than the standard, “Yes, Dear!” which did not answer the question.

We got t the Lodge a wee bit early. I suggested we have an appetizer and then Mary reminded me of my weight!

I thought to myself, 200 lbs here on Earth is 89.5 lbs on Mercury. No, I’m not fat; I’m not on the right planet.

We passed the time drinking coffee before everyone else showed up.

Everyone loved the flowers (Gladiolas)

Did You Know? The gladiolus not only has roots in the ground but also in ancient history. Named for their shape and appearance, the term gladiolus stems from the diminutive form of gladius, which means sword in Latin. Translated literally, gladiolus is a little sword. Gladioli have also been called xiphium, which comes from the Greek word, xiphios, which also means sword. In addition to the name gladiolus, the flowers have been referred to as sword or corn lilies.

The and began showing up around 11:30 AM. Mike and Linda came back later in the afternoon on Sunday, and they saw their moon disappear and DID NOT TAKE A CAMERA!!!

Mary and I looked for the eclipse, but we were in the Swim Spa, and the moon was in the trees just behind us; we missed the event.

Avalon Ball stories are retold.

George came in a little later and asked about Colleen (our daughter). They are good friends. I mentioned Colleen and Mark were on a road trip to Indiana, so that is why there are no emails from Colleen.

He is in trouble; we got dessert for Beverly.

This table has two Oyster Monsters sitting at it. Who are they? If they sit next to you and you order oysters, watch out. I told them, “My “et oyster used to be shy, then one day he came out of his shell!”

Di” You Know? An oyster can filter 1.3 gallons of water per hour. Oysters filter water through their gills and consume food, like plankton, in the process. Oysters can maintain the balance of a marine ecosystem by reducing excess algae and sediment that can lead to hypoxia, or low oxygen levels, causing other marine life to die. The oyster population of Chesapeake Bay used to filter the entire water volume of the bay in just three days.

Which two ladies are the “Oyster Queens?”

We departed around 1:30 PM and went to Jan’shouse because we brought her some salmon which was perfectly done; the Elks Lodge chef is a master!

After visiting with Jan, we came home and rested a bit since Mary decided not to go to a conference this evening; it turned out the meeting could not be used for CME (Continuing Medical Education) credits.

We had dinner and then went into the Swim Spa for a good hour to soak tired old bodies.

We watched a little TV while eating dinner (the roll-around TV was a wonderful idea!!)

I decided this evening I am not an early bird or a night owl, and I am some form of a permanently exhausted pigeon.

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The Week Is Half Gone; So Are We!

Posted on Wednesday, May 18, 2022 by Paul

Fact: According to a survey, bosses are most receptive to requests from their employees on a Wednesday. So if you’re going to ask for a pay rise or a holiday, make sure you do it on a Wednesday.

Gaining courage after today’s fact, I will ask Mary for a pay raise! I hope that I see the sunset!

Poor Scout has been biting himself, so it is off to the vet. We came home with a $1000+ bill and a new “cone of shame.” He went next door to visit his friend.

The Postman does not have a chance now!

At 1:00 PM, we headed to BAnning to visit Annie and Virgil. We took the rocket, Precious, as she needed to run and get charged up. It was an hour’s drive, and we had a great visit. They live on a golf course, and we got visitors.

The babies were out in full force!

Why do ducks make great detectives? They always quack the case.

After getting near home, we stopped at Ralph’s and got the ingredients for more bean soup. The one from yesterday is long gone!

We watched two movies as we prepared and ate dinner. First, it was “Death In Paradise.” Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise is a 2006 American made-for-television crime film directed by Robert Harmon and starring Tom Selleck, Viola Davis, and Kohl Sudduth. Based on the 2001 novel Death in Paradise by Robert B. Parker, the film is about a small-town police chief and struggling alcoholic who investigates the murder of a teenage girl whose body is found floating in a lake. The case brings the former LAPD homicide detective into the affluent world of a bestselling writer who exploits troubled teens and the violent world of a Boston mobster. Filmed on location in Nova Scotia,[2] the story is set in the fictitious town of Paradise, Massachusetts. Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise is the third in a series of nine television films based on Parker’s Jesse Stone novels. The film first aired on the CBS television network on April 30, 2006.

What do you call a crocodile that is a detective? An investi-gator.

Then we watched “Sea Change.” Jesse Stone: Sea Change is a 2007 American made-for-television crime drama film directed by Robert Harmon and starring Tom Selleck, Kathy Baker, and Kohl Sudduth. Based on the 2006 novel Sea Change by Robert B. Parker, the film is about the police chief of a small New England town who investigates the unsolved murder of a bank teller shot during a robbery and an alleged rape that draws him into conflict with the town council. It hopes to preserve the town’s reputation as an ideal seaside resort. Filmed on location in Nova Scotia, the story is set in the fictitious town of Paradise, Massachusetts. Jesse Stone: Sea Change is the fourth in a series of nine television films based on Parker’s Jesse Stone novels.

We finally crashed as we had to be at the gym at 8:15 AM. One last stroll around the backyard was required.

Time to lock up and go to bed!

Good night all!

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Ouch! That Hurt!

Posted on Tuesday, May 17, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Christmas day is the most common day of the year for heart attacks to happen.

We beat the roosters up this fine morning as Paul had to be at the cardiologists office at 8:00 AM in Los Alamitos. He went for a “nuclear stress test”. A nuclear stress test uses a small amount of radioactive material (tracer) and an imaging machine to create pictures showing the blood flow to your heart. The test measures blood flow while you are at rest and during activity, showing areas with poor blood flow or damage in your heart.

Monday we get the results!

We were there for three hours and departed about 11:00 AM and headed home. I took a quick nap and so did Mary; 5:00 AM is too early for us anymore.

We did manage to go to the gym in the afternoon and then do some errands including the UPS Store and Post Office.

The chemicals they put into me made me “sick” or should I say hungry? I told Mary that the doctor suggested a hamburger after the procedure should I feel sick. In An Out, here we come.

It reminded me of the time Mary and I stayed at an Elvis-themed hotel. The burgers in the restaurant were for people who Love Meat Tender.

Mary also served up some of her famous bean soup that she had in the slow cooker all day; it was out of this world delicious. I had three bowls before I stopped.

We came home and watched another Tom Selleck movie before crashing. This was a TV movie series about him, as Jessie Stone, being a sheriff in a small New England town.

Tom Selleck does a magnificent job!!

Our TV viewing is not set for a week!

We crashed about 9:00 PM and I was out like a light not waking until about 2:30 AM.

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Home From The Wars

Posted on Monday, May 16, 2022 by Paul

Fact: 97% of Galapagos Island is declared a National Park because of its scientific significance, and these areas are uninhabited. The rest of the island has a population of about 25,000.

We awoke to the sounds of the city, no macaws or other exotic birds! We are missing Catalina already!

Scout was up and happy to see us. He told us about the latest app he has for his iPhone!

No more iPhone apps for Scout

But at 9:00 AM came a different sound, a diesel truck! Our supplies for part of the new garden arrived and were put on the driveway!

Three hundred linear feet of brick for the low walls surrounding the beds!

When it is done, it will look like the Los Alamitos house!

Here it comes!

The neighbors came out to see what all the noise was about. We told them about the new vegetable garden, which will be about 1200 square feet in the south part of our back yard.

For the rest of the day, we did wash and put up the clothes! We were pooped. We decided to go to Ace’s Bar and Grill for lunch, and we had a steak salad and a glass of wine.

We went to a furrier to find out about storing furs. Then it was off to Jan’s house, where we shared stories about Avalon this past weekend.

When we got home, we matched another Tom Selleck movie called. Wyoming, 1892: Monte’s been a cowboy for ranchers all his life, but he’s no longer young, and big business is taking over the ranches.

While the movie was on, Mary fixed lunch for us tomorrow since I have a nuclear stress test planned and part of the test requires me to eat some fatting foods; I see a ham and cheese sandwich in my future.

After the movie, we crashed. We have to be up at 5:00 AM to make it to Los Alamitos at 7:45 AM.

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Coming Home After An Amazing Weekend!

Posted on Sunday, May 15, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Greenland is the world’s largest island, located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The total area of Greenland is 2,166,086 square kilometers (836,330 square miles). It is around 2,650 kilometers (1,650 miles) long (north-south) and up to 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) wide (east-west). Greenland is a continental island composed of the same materials as the adjacent North American continent, from which it is separated by a shallow and narrow sea.

See the details.

We were up early to get a Starbucks to drink while we packed. As I peeked out the door, I was met with a wet blanket of channel fog!

It was foggy outside!

The pier was almost gone; it reminded me of an Alfred Hitchcock horror movie!

We hope the boat does not get lost!

Mary stopped for a glamor shot next to the harbor seal.

Did You Know? Old Ben was an enormous and friendly sea lion who first appeared in the Avalon harbor in 1898. He quickly became the town mooch, flopping through the streets, looking for fish snacks, and posing with Santa Catalina tourists for snapshots. He even appeared in a 1914 movie, “The Sea Nymphs,” before swimming off and disappearing in the early 1920s.

Avalon never forgot its flippery town pet, and in 1975 it erected a life-size concrete statue of Old Ben as its Bicentennial project — a statue reportedly so lifelike that real seals would bark at it. That statue was replaced by an identical one made of bronze in 1986, and in 2009 it was moved from its spot on the end of a pier to a more shutterbug-friendly downtown location.

A new statue was added to the square.

Off to the dock, where we continued our non-stop cavorting. The Ash’s are staying until 6:00 PM to catch some rays!

Come on the boat; we need to go home.

On the way home, we restuffed ourselves and then decided to go to Old Ranch for lunch! The lunch was great, and then it was home. We surprised Irene, who was house and dog sitting, and Irene thought we were coming on Monday!

We found a glass of vino and then hit the Swim Spa for a good hour to get the kinks out of our backs from hauling the suitcases.

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Posted on Saturday, May 14, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Avalon’s golf course was first built in 1892, making it the oldest course in southern California.

We were up and moving at 0-dark:30 AM because we had to have breakfast and then played nine holes of golf.

Mary was up and ready to golf, but she had forgotten her proper golf dress. This picture is a 2014 photo taken in Catalina at the Avalon Ball weekend.

No, Mary, we are playing gold first!

We headed to the Sand Trap, a gourmet restaurant located just below the men’s first hole tees.

A fine dining experience!

To the links, and Mary remembered how to swing the club!

See the details!

Wack that sucker!

She scared the heck out of the squirrels; they ran and hid in the trees when they saw her coming. Little did they know the trees were not a safe space.

“I am a protected species!”

We did not see any of these little critters, and we were happy we didn’t/ Although, I would like to have a rattlesnake belt!

Springtime and the rattlesnakes are frisky these days!

Off to the Bluewater Grill for dinner. We had great seats on the pier/patio and could watch the boats come and go!

See the details!

Bob and Donna are looking good!

Dr. Mary and Paul dressed for the 9’s. We had a wonderful dinner with the Zaitz and Ash’s. I tried to order ousters, but there was an “oyster monster” at the table!

A handsome couple indeed!

Mike and Linda made the dinner entertaining. I love Mike’s jacket, and, surprisingly, it fits since he got it off a drunk living under a bridge on Beach Blvd.