Don’t Spare The Smarocks, Bring On The Corned Beef!

Posted on Saturday, March 14, 2026 by Paul

Today we’re having friends and family over to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day early—because this year it falls on the 17th… aka a Tuesday, the official day of “We can’t celebrate on a Tuesday, we are retired and have work to do.”

At 6:30 am sharp, Alexa sounded her “get the hell out of bed ” alarm, meaning it’s time to go to the kitchen and begin preparations.  Today, we are doing boiled, baked, and slow-cooker corned beef.

Did You Know?

  • Corned beef gets its name from the “corns” (large grains) of salt historically used to cure it, not from corn, the vegetable.
  • Traditional Irish corned beef wasn’t the everyday staple in Ireland; it became strongly associated with Irish-Americans in the U.S., who often bought brisket from Jewish butchers as an affordable substitute for Irish bacon.
  • The cut is usually brisket (or sometimes round), cured in a salty brine with “pickling spices” like mustard seed, coriander, peppercorns, bay leaf, and cloves.
  • The pink color in many store-bought corned beef comes from curing salt (sodium nitrite), which helps prevent spoilage and keeps the meat rosy even after cooking.
  • Historically, beef in Ireland was relatively expensive; much of the salt-cured beef was exported, especially in the 17th–19th centuries.
  • Corned beef and cabbage became a classic St. Patrick’s Day meal in America partly because cabbage was cheap and readily available alongside brisket.
  • Corned beef is cured (brined) first; pastrami is typically corned beef that’s then seasoned (often with coriander/pepper) and smoked.
  • The brisket’s two main parts are the flat (leaner, slices neatly) and the point (fattier, more flavorful).  Many packaged corned beef briskets are mostly flat.
  • If you cook corned beef too fast or too long, it can get tough.  Low—and—slow simmering or braising helps melt collagen into gelatin.
  • Leftover corned beef is the classic base for corned beef hash—and it also makes a great Reuben (or”Rachel” if you swap in turkey).

We are now on a search-and-rescue mission to find the appropriate cooking utensils, including pots and pans!

Posted in Cooking, Family, Food and Wine, Friends, Holidays | Leave a comment

Friday We Worked And Worked And Worked!

Posted on Friday, March 13, 2026 by Paul

By 8:00 am, we hit the dirt, planting everything in sight!  May did several small plantings, including the cantaloupe, while I dug ditches for the corn!  We mulched, then picked everything up, as we expect to have some garden tours tomorrow (our annual St. Patrick’s Day corned beef extravaganza).

We added four more rows of corn to these and added two rows of cantaloupe adjacent to the corn!  Then we mulch!

After three hours of working with our 12 mil latex gloves, we had to laugh.  When we sat down to rest and pulled off the gloves, our hands were spotless, but perspiration poured out of the gloves!

We figured we’d beat the lunch rush, so we rolled into Del Taco to aggressively refuel our bellies.  Then we took a casual two-hour round trip to H&H Nursery and somehow turned the back of the van into a mobile garden center—now the front yard is getting a glow-up, and the van definitely needs a nap.

The H&H Nursery is huge!

The trip is about 32 minutes on the 55/22 route and a little longer going home; the good old 91 is always slow!!

Since it was that time of year when you buy three bags of Bumper Crop and get one “free”, we came home with four bags.  We got four bags two weeks ago and turned them into the backyard planters.

Master Nursery Bumper Crop Organic Soil Builder, which I have been using for almost twenty years,  has always been known for its exceptional quality and rich biodiversity, and, as an OMRI-listed soil builder, it is trusted by gardeners across the United States.  It is a balanced blend of sphagnum peat, aged wood fiber, cured compost, aged bark, lobster meal, worm castings, kelp meal, and dehydrated poultry manure that ensures your plants receive all the nutrients they need for healthy growth and development.  Additionally, it is inoculated with endomycorrhizal fungi, which helps to improve root function and overall plant health.

We took the 55 to the 22 to the 405 to H&H, then the 9a home.

After we rolled home with our haul, Sleeping Beauty announced an emergency nap—strictly for “beauty maintenance”—before gracing the front yard with her presence.
While she was off in her royal coma, I went full yard goblin: pruning like I had beef with the shrubs, digging holes like I’d lost something expensive, and planting as the HOA had hired me.

Mary joined me after a while and did some serious gardening inside the fence, and she made the Plumeria look wonderful by adding color around the base!  She also arranged the larger flower pots on the right side of the yard so that I can start early on Sunday!

Looking good!

Mary was a total MVP and helped me with the cleanup.  We tossed all the tools and gardening goodies into the wheelbarrow and parked it by the side of the house—because apparently we’re starting a “Yard Work: The Series,” and the next episode drops on Sunday.

Around 6:00 pm, we declared victory and headed to the Swim Spa for a well-deserved soak!  Guess what?  The modern hot tub, popularized by the Jacuzzi brothers, was created to help a family member who has rheumatoid arthritis.  We both have “gardenitis” after working all day in the garden.

We enjoyed watching the sunset and seeing the sky turn different colors as the Sun makes its journey around the Earth (yeah, I know, we go around the Sun)

Take the pain away, PLEASE!  We again tried to watch “Suits” but gave up and tried a Bruise Willis movie called “Being Us”.  It was “OK” but nothing I would want to see again!

By 10:00 pm we were crashed!  Our eyelids felt like iron doors.  Tomorrow is a big day!

Posted in Gardening, Working Around House | Leave a comment

Thirsty Thursday Has Arrived With 90 Degree Temperatures!

Posted on Thursday, March 12, 2026 by Paul

I love that girl even if she is a frog!!

Yes indeed!  I rolled over, looked at the wall clock, and it said 6:30 am, but then I looked outside, and it was dark, with the time reading “it’s 0’dark-thirty”.  What to do was the question!  I flipped a coin and finally got up,p leaving her nibs sound asleep.

I crept into the office using my most stealthy move and started working on yesterday’s Daily Diary… but apparently my brain didn’t get the memo.  The older I get, the harder it is to remember what we actually did yesterday—at this point, I’m one cup of coffee away from writing, “Day: occurred.  Events: yes.” Growing old is not for the faint of heart!

While Mary was getting ready for the Elks, I went to the backyard and planted a flat of corn; sixteen went into the ground.  It took about 90 minutes to dig the trough, drill the holes, fertilize, and plant these suckers.

I had all my necessary tools with me!

The garden is about 90% planted, and if we can find spaghetti squash and some watermelons, we will declare ourselves done!

Dig baby dig!

At the Elks, I could NOT resist but to put green food coloring into Bill’s vodka!

We made plans with Bob to take him to the doctor on Monday morning—he’s having a small procedure, which apparently comes with a “no driving” rule, so we’ve been hired as his post-op chauffeur… paid entirely in gratitude and awkward small talk.

Is he having second thoughts?

On the way into the lodge, Mary spotted a “Get Well Bear” that was made by the Emblems (the ladies auxiliary of the Elks).  Mary smiled, so I knew I had to get it, and I did, surprising her after lunch!

Cuddling the new addition to our family!

We went home, and Mary took a nap while I did the glamorous work of dragging the trash cans to the front yard—because nothing says “romance” like curbside logistics.

At 3:00 pm, Alexa went off, and it was go-time.  Mary geared up for Disney Jazz at Campus Jax.  Naturally, she put on the full mouse costume, and I threw on my”Grumpy” car service shirt—because every magical evening needs one person committed to the vibes and one person committed to being mildly annoyed about it.

We were absolutely in the mood.  Magical!  Musica!  We had Robin and Bob with us, making for an amazing evening.

Watch out for the mouse!  Hide your cheese!

You can watch the show below!

They jazzed up all the Disney classics, and the sound was pretty good; we actually sang along to some of the songs!

It was nice to see musicians/performers dressed up for a change!

Bob was attempting to figure out what the drummer was doing!

“Beats me!”

The girls were having fun all evening long!

“Give me a hand!”

We rested outside after the show, allowing those in a hurry to clear the parking lot.

“Minnie would never do that!!”

One Ginnes beer and we went crazy!

Clowning around!

After the show, we waited!  Bob found the missing placard!

We watched the people exiting the lot going 60 mph; we stayed behind!

Robin and Bob headed home, and we headed to The Tartan Room in Orange to bravely “finish off the evening” the only responsible way: one glass of wine and a couple of Gillis beers.

We even met one of the entertainers—now we’ve got plans to catch his performance next Wednesday night… because apparently we’re the kind of people who make midweek nightlife commitments like we don’t have jobs, laundry, or a couch that misses us.  We are FREE!

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

Mid Week Means Eek, The Gym!

Posted on Wednesday, March 11, 2026 by Paul

Race Ya!!

We got up, and it was dark out; the time change struck again!  We had our morning coffee and pamplemousse* before suiting up for the next 100 minutes of our bi-weekly agony.   From the house to the gym is a mere ten minutes of unbriadled anticipation.

* Grapefruit is called pamplemousse in French because the word originates from the Dutch pompelmoes, a combination of pompel (fat/swollen) and moes (lemon/citrus), essentially meaning “fat lemon” or “big lemon,” describing the fruit’s large size compared to a lemon.  This name reflects its history as a cross between the pomelo (the pamplemousse in French) and the sweet orange.

Through the door and into Peak Performance, we pranced for a mid-week jaw-rattling, bone-crushing vacation in the Land of Torture.  I honestly thought someone brought breakfast and was demolishing a bowl of Rice Krispies—turns out it was just my skeleton snap-crackle-popping its way between machines like it was there for band practice.

You can do it!

After the workout and applying a lot of horse liniment* to each other, we stopped by the bagel house, but they were sold out.  Instead, we made a”Colleen Approved” Dunkin’ run and left with two lattes, an egg bite, and a cream cheese–filled plain bagel.

* Horse liniments, such as Absorbine Veterinary Liniment Gel, are commonly used by humans for temporary relief of muscle pain, arthritis, and joint stiffness due to their strong, “icy-hot” sensation. While popular for being effective and inexpensive, these products are formulated for horses, are not FDA-approved for human use, and can cause allergic reactions in some users.

Then it was off to home to make sure the house was clean before the house cleaners arrived, scheduled at 11:30 am.

Just before they showed up (courtesy of our many security cameras), we dived into the car and headed to Huntington Beach for our monthly hairdo session.  We arrived early, so we wandered next door to the Black Trumpet and “killed time” the classy way: a glass of wine and two “small” plates of their finest lunchtime appetizers.  Mary went to work on the veal meatballs, while I bravely attacked a pile of shrimp drowning in a luscious Italian sauce—because heroes don’t wear capes; they bring bread for the extra sauce.  Calories be damned!  We are fearless.

Veal meatballs are typically made from ground veal (young calf), often mixed with breadcrumbs, egg, milk/ricotta, herbs, and Parmesan for tenderness.  Because veal is lean and mild, recipes often add pork or beef (or extra fat like pancetta) to keep the meatballs juicy.

Come on in!!

Since the salon was right next door, we told Tammie to text when she was ready—and of course, her message popped up the moment we finished brunch.  Mary headed next door first, and I stayed behind to enjoy one more glass of vino.  I thought that might help kill the pain when I get my haircut.

After my vico, I wandered next door to see how the magic was doing!  Like magic, I can now see her face since the bangs were shortened.

Wow!  What a beauty!

I can remember well that, thirty years ago today, our grandson #3 was born in Whittier.  It was a good day, and all the grandparents were there, celebrating.  Here we are 30 years later!

Connor lives about an hour south of us and works in real estate financing.

Connor, Aunt Colleen, and one of our recent parties!

We are lucky to have him kinda near by, so we get to see him whenever we have family get-togethers.   His mother is estranged from the family, and that is a good thing.  His brother and family live in La Habra, and we see them regularly.

A few hairs earlier!

After the haircut and trip home, we stopped by Ralph’s Market and gathered the ingredients for the Saturday St. Patrick’s Day party at our house.  Twenty pounds of corned beef later, we departed the market with the wheels on the shopping cart creaking under the strain!

I’m having daydreams about night things in the middle of the afternoon – Great name for a song!!

After stashing the groceries away, we did a garden perimeter check—basically the plant version of tucking everyone into bed—making sure everything was watered up, because we’ve got 90-degree days coming and my vegetables do not handle heat like emotionally stable adults.

At first I thought it was a green bat swooping down to raid the garden then I figured out it was Mary ion ther semi-St Patraick’s day outfit!

We were both pooped out and decided that a soak in the hot tub would be a good move, so I opened the cover, dropped in some “stinky-stuff”, and belly-floppped in from the roof of the house, making a small tsunami.

I looked up the word “tsunami” on Wikipedia.  I was surprised at the definition:  “A tsunami is a large wave normally triggered by large earthquakes that occur near or under the ocean, volcanic eruptions, submarine landslides, Paul jumping into a body of water, or onshore landslides in which large volumes of debris fall into the water.”

After the water had settled down, we did enjoy a small glass of wine!

We get plenty of time to talk and catch up.  At the same time, the warm H?O and those water jets power-wash away the lingering aches from today’s adventures—basically turning us from “brave explorers” back into “functioning humans.”

We wish this were true!!

We called Robin and Colleen and gave them the full play-by-play.  Everyone’s doing great!  Then we tried (again) to watch the last episode of Suits, but the hot swim spa hit us like a tranquilizer dart.  Next thing we knew, we’d time-traveled to 10:30 pm and had to wake up to go to bed.

Posted in Dining Out, Just Us, Working Around House | Leave a comment

A Painting We Will Go! A Painting We Will Go!

Posted on Tuesday, March 10, 2026 by Paul

It’s Tuesday!

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

We were up before 7:00 am, with Mary already in full mission mode—fixing breakfast and getting herself ready for her trip to watercolor class (because apparently, sleep is optional when art is involved).

Meanwhile, I spent a couple of hours replanting two hibiscus plants into larger containers.  Nothing says”good morning” like wrestling roots before coffee.

I’m blessed to have a VERY smart bride who came up with the genius idea of swapping pots.  I did the heavy lifting; she thought—classic teamwork.

Bonus: the two original smaller pots are being moved to the front entrance way, so now our porch will look like we planned it all on purpose.

 

At 12; 15 pm, Mary took off like a scalded hound for the Tustin Senior Citizens Center.

While she was gone, I puttered around the house doing things like resetting all the clocks, taking clothes off the roll-around rack and putting them away, doing a load of wash, and cleaning up the front yard/patio.

The Mother-In-Law’s Tongue does not need much water, so I did not connect it to the drip line.  A few drops once a week will be just fine!

We love “The Mother-In-Law’s Tongue” plant!

Mary found this sign in Laguna and fell in love with it; I wonder why???  The plants are now trimmed back, and one pot is ready for some colorful flowers.

Mary loves her sign!

This hibiscus has been transplanted three times and somehow is still thriving—clearly it enjoys moving more than I do.  It was leaning hard in the last pot, so during today’s transplant, I finally sat it up straight.  Consider it less “repotting” and more “plant chiropractic.”

The hibiscus plants are very happy in their new homes; fresh soil and new fertilizer!

Mary pulled in at 3:10 pm with her newest artwork in hand, plus some mods to her lighthouse (boats and birds)

Watercolor is older than you think: Early watercolor-like techniques show up in ancient Egypt, and watercolor became a major European art form during the Renaissance (often for studies and maps).

The teacher was absent today, so the class worked on whatever they wanted.  Mary’s first effort was to finalize the lighthouse by adding birds.

Then Mary worked on a present for Donna!  Donna loves roosters, so she will get a colorful rooster to have around the house!

Only roosters (male chickens) crow; hens can make a lot of the same calls, but typically don’t do the full crow.

Mary returned home at 3:10 pm, and we got ready to go to the Seagerstrom Theater this evening to see “Six”.

Dru joined us at 4:30 p,m and we departed for the Silver Trumpet, bringing along all the ingredients needed for a Hershey’s Chocolate Martini!

AJ joined us for dinner.  She has been sitting next to us for a long time, and we have invited her to visit.

SIX is a pop-concert-style musical about the six wives of King Henry VIII.  Each queen takes the mic to tell her side of the story—how she lived, what happened to her, and how history has defined her—then they”compete” (in a playful, battle-of-the-band way) over who had it worst.  By the end, the show flips the premise into something more empowering: the queens reclaim their identities beyond Henry and rewrite their narratives together.

Key vibe: modern pop songs, comedy, fast-paced storytelling, contemporary language, and lots of references to today’s celebrity culture.

We crashed upon arriving home. It has been a long day!

Posted in Dining Out, Friends, Painting, Theater | Leave a comment

Gym, Eat, Work and Play Never Get Old!

Posted on Monday, March 9, 2026 by Paul

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

It has to be a nuthouse, because we’re officially going nuts.  We’re retired… yet we’re still up at 6:00 am, as if we must report for duty and somehow there’s still “just a little work” to do all day long.  Retirement is a scam if I’ve ever seen one.  Yep, we must be nuts.

We were up and running at 6:30 am or 7:30 am; we were not sure because of last night’s time change!  Finally, after consulting the computer, we found out the correct time and had to get ready to go to the gym (commonly known as “the torture chamber”).

We walked into Peak Performance and were immediately herded onto the stationary bikes, where we pedaled for almost 45 minutes.  We kept thinking,” Why does this feel extra brutal today?” Then we noticed the rubber belt running from the wheel to a tiny generator.

Turns out the faster we pedaled, the brighter the gym lights seemed to get.  We may ask for a discount.  The lights were on because we were basically human hamsters paying dues to keep the building running.  We may change our last name to Edison!!

We made up an excuse to leave 10 minutes early because I had to get a blood test at 10:10 am.  I was worried because I forgot to study beforehand.

Off to the ” 800 Building” on Tuston Blvd, where I was poked and prodded until they found a vein with sufficient blood flow to fill the two-gallon jug.  After the blood letting, I wondered why I was so pale (or was it pale?).

The blood letting was on the first floor!

We were going to go out for breakfast, but our favorite spot was closed—rude.  So we pivoted like mature, adaptable adults… and ended up at Orange County Farmers Supply on a thrilling quest for corn, spaghetti squash, broccoli, and cabbage.

Orange County Farm Supply is a locally owned family business that supplies a wide range of products, including soil amendments, organic fertilizers, seeds, mulches, compost, potting soils, garden supplements, and a wide variety of garden tools and bedding plants.

Originally established in 1948, Orange County Farm Supply was purchased by John Roy in 1962.  Since that time, it has continuously been owned and operated by the Roy family.  When the Farm Supply began, it truly was a farm supply, selling agricultural products such as fertilizers and chemicals, farm equipment, and seed and fencing to all the local farmers.

Over the years, they have transitioned to what the local economy is interested in, and even though farmers are still shopping with them, their customers are mainly homeowners and garden enthusiasts.  Additionally, they have many commercial accounts, ranging from Disneyland and the Orange County school districts to condominium complexes and office buildings.

Nothing says “fun Monday morning” like aggressively shopping for vegetables we have to stash in the trunk of The Silver Fox.

Decisions, decisions, decisions!

After making our selection and stuffing The Silver Fox with veggies, we headed home!  Thirty-two corn plants will soon be in the ground and growing tall to produce wonderful summer corn.  This year, we are mixing yellow and white corn.

After unloading our goodies, we had breakfast.  I fixed two big steaks, and Mary prepared twice-baked potatoes and an amazing salad!  Now we have the energy to attack the yard, and this time we are after the front patio area!  We had several items on our agenda:

  • Move two Hibiscus plants next to the fence (they needed more Sun)
  • Trim the Spider Plant (it has done well)
  • Plant four bulbs along the western wall
  • Plant some of the remaining Mother-In-Law Tongues
  • Transplant the Cana from the bed to the wall
  • Fill up the five pots to the top and put in flowers
  • Replant the rotary planter
  • Adjust the drip lines accordingly.

This small set of tasks took us the entire afternoon, and we are still not done.

I disassembled the planter and turned the soil; Mary planted the missing spots.

We had plenty of extra time thanks to the time change… and still somehow ran out of energy.  So we updated our”to-do” list (aka moved everything to “tomorrow”), then headed to the swim spa to soothe our aching muscles and pretend this was the plan all along.

We added a few things to the “to-do” list as we completed this afternoon’s cleanup!

We enjoyed the hot tub/swim spa, which we keep at 96 degrees year-round (so we can jump in at a moment’s notice).  We even talked about making a small salad for dinner, but by the time we were out and into our jammies, we’d forgotten about dinner and slept through the end of “Suits” again!

We were in bed by 9:00 pm.

We sailed off into the night dreaming of today’s work and tomorrow’s plans.

Posted in Gym, Vegetable Garden, Working Around House | Leave a comment

Posted on Sunday, March 8, 2026 by Paul

It’s Sunday and

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Saturday Was Work And Fun!

Posted on Saturday, March 7, 2026 by Paul

We started in the garden right after our morning coffee, when the day still felt soft and manageable.  But that dry wind had other plans—so we jumped in early, determined to get every vegetable in the ground and tucked under mulch before everything dried out.

I started first, and soon Mary followed me out, and we tag-teamed the beds.   I turn the soil, Mary plants the babies, I follow up with mulch, repeat until we are too tired to move.

My smile keeps the bugs away!

We start with one-year-old bales of straw that have been sitting on the ground behind the garden, absorbing water and hopefully forcing whatever seeds are inside to germinate and croak!

Why straw works well:

  • Moisture retention: It shades the soil and slows evaporation.
  • Weed suppression: A 2–4 inch layer helps block weed germination.
  • Soil improvement: It breaks down over time, adding organic matter.
  • Temperature buffering: Keeps roots cooler in heat and reduces soil crusting.

We start with bales of straw!

After each plant is in the ground, we follow it up with careful mulching.

3-4 inches deep around each plant.

It takes a lot of tools to maintain the garden, so we have a garden workbench adjacent to it!  The brown cover rolls over everything at night and during inclement weather!

The garden workbench is a busy place!

By 1:30 pm, we were officially pooped out.  Mary dug the weeds out of the large bed so we can plant corn, watermelons, and cantaloupes within the next few weeks.  Watermelons and cantaloupes take between 70 and 100 days to produce fruit, depending on the variety.

At 2:00 pm, we headed inside and started getting ready for tonight’s festivities at the Elks Lodge—because nothing says “party-time” like sprinting to glam up for a building named after a large, judgmental deer.

We got ready for an unforgettable St. Patrick’scelebration, where the luck of the Irish is sure to be on our side!  We plan to dive into a delicious buffet featuring corned beef & cabbage, shepherd’s pies, and Jameson chicken.  We will quench our thirst with a selection of drinks, including Guinness stout, Harp lager, Smithwick’s ale, and fine Irish whiskeys.  We expect lively Irish thistle dancers, and we will dance the night away to the band Sideways’ energetic tunes.

See all the pictures here!

Jamie joined us this evening!

Yes, we imbibed and had some green beer!

Did You Know? –  Green beer is mostly an American invention tied to St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the United States, not a traditional Irish practice.

Earliest known origin.

  • The first widely cited, documented instance is 1914 in New York City, credited to Dr. Thomas H. Curtin (also spelled Curtin/Curtrin in some retellings), a physician and Irish?  American social figure.
  • At a St. Patrick’s Day event at the Schnerer Club (a social club), he reportedly added a blue dye to beer.  Because beer is yellow, blue + yellow = green, producing “green beer.”
  • In the early 20th century, St. Patrick’s Day in many American cities (Chicago, New York, Boston, etc.) grew into big public parades and bar-centered festivities.
  • Novelty foods and drinks—green beer, later green bagels/cupcakes, etc.—fit the theme and were easy for bars to sell.
  • By mid-century, green beer had become a familiar St. Patrick’s Day gimmick across the U.S. and Canada.

Nothing like using a blender to add in the grass clippings!

Michele and Franklyn joined us this evening, making for more fun!

They do look like water glasses, right?

Everyone had beer, but being the clever person I am, I ordered green wine!

I was asked about my choice of sinw several times!

The entertainment was a group of girls who enjoyed performing Irish folk dancing.  They were quite amazing!

Hang on, they are about ready to perform!

Arms straight down and moving about the stage/floor at breakneck speeds.  It was a wonderful performance!

They got a fantastic round of applause!

Michele and Franklyn were a load of fun this evening, mixing right in with the group.

Love the shades of green!

We may have had another beer or two—strictly for hydration.

After the second beer, I dared to go to the dance floor!

At least, Mary had them snap my “good side”.  I was self-twirling” at the rate of 16 revolutions per minute, and sequins were flying everywhere!

After being asked to leave the dance floor, we went back to our table.

Needless to say, Robin took The Silver Fo home and deposited us safely at Casa Valencia!

Posted in Dining Out, Elks, Family, Friends, Vegetable Garden, Working Around House | Leave a comment

Friday Means The Weekend Is Near!

Posted on Friday, March 6, 2026 by Paul

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

It was supposed to be a gardening day, but Mother Nature showed up with 30 mph winds and a bad attitude.  Between the dirt trying to exfoliate our faces and Mary’s contact lenses threatening to turn into potato chips, we voted to stay indoors (at least for the morning).

We went to make our coffee, and Mary returned in almost uncontainable exasperation, yelling, “Duck, duck, duck.”  I, of course, being the most dutiful husband, fell to the floor and crawled under the table.  Mary asked what I was doing, and I said, “You said DUCK!”

Well, she meant the animal, not the action.

Then we walked into the kitchen and—no joke—Donald and Daisy Duck were out there like they owned the place, waddling across the yard and lining up for their morning bath like it was a five-star spa and we were the unpaid staff.

Immediately, I assumed my manly home-protection mode and ran out the door, my jammies blowing in the wind, flapping my arms, and yelling child-friendly obscenities at the two trespassers.

I brought a towel just in case any of us fell into the pool, ducks included!

Little did I know my pajama bottoms trap-door* was open, and if the ducks saw that, it would be considered cruel and unusual punishment!  PITA might go after us!

* Sometimes known as the Butt Flap, the Rear Access Hatch, the Emergency Exit, the Moonroof, the Backdoor Portal, the Blast Door, the Cheek Peek, the Buns Bypass, the Flap of No Return, or the Midnight Maintenance Panel.

The filthy beasts retreated instantly after spotting the madman in the jammies coming after them!

Then the computer burped out a message from Miss Vicky, our elementary school teacher, asking if we want to go to Benjie’s for breakfast.  I almost broke two fingers answering “YES, WHEN?”  She gave us 90 minutes to get ready, so we went into scramble mode and decided to wear our St. Patrick’s Day matching shirts!

We went to Benjie’s and had a most marvelous brunch, sharing the latest gossip about our friends and foes.  It was a delightful way to begin the day!  Vicky is our beacon of sanity in this chaotic world.

We had to get back home because a painter was coming by the house to get a check (for Mary’s rental) and to develop an estimate for our home.  We did NOT have time to start in the garden because we had a 1:00 pm appointment with our podiatrist, Dr. Bill, who would take care of my ingrown toenail!

After the appointment, we opted to visit the American Legion because it was so cold and windy at home.

It was in the mid-70s and ZERO wind on the bay!

Mother Nature called me, so I left Mary with the simple task of ordering our favorite Turkey Club sandwich.  I returned, and our wine was there, and Mary said she had placed the order.

Enjoying life.

We were peacefully sipping our wine when—like a plot twist in a soap opera—the waiter swooped by holding a BLT.

A BLT?  What??   A BLT???

Now, Mary doesn’t eat bacon, which means her “BLT” immediately became a very elegant LT.  Basically, a salad that forgot it was supposed to be a salad and landed between two pieces of rye bread.  Meanwhile, I gobbled up my half of what was supposed to be a turkey sandwich plus two extra strips of bacon, because I’m a problem-solver.

Naturally, I asked, “So what happened to the turkey sandwich?”Mary gave me a SEG (ask me if you’re curious).

Translation: she goofed—major faux pas.  Full boo-boo.? mistake so big it should’ve come with its own apology card.

Just us!

I forgave her, but I will make sure I order myself or provide her with written instructions!

Yes, indeed!

Mary nibbled on her LT, I decimated my BLT, and we had our wine while singing songs about the sea!

The bay was so calm, it looked like a lake, nary a ripple!

The scene was quite relaxing.

OK, time to get to work.  We got home at 3:30 pm and instantly teleported to the backyard to begin planting our latest vegetable acquisitions!

I was in my gardening costume, and Mary asked me to kick the bucket (over to her).  I thought long and hard about her request and decided to carry the can over carefully!

The weather was basically showing off—mid-70s and not a whisper of wind.  We planted like absolute champions right up until the sun clocked out and darkness came in like,” Alright, that’s enough productivity for today.”

A handsome dude, for sure.

We decided not to do the swim spa tonight and to attempt to finish off “Suits”.  We didn’t make it, but we are just two episodes from the end.

We got EXCELLENT news during our nightly call to Robin.  Her plans to go with Bob during is gig did not work out; timing issues, so that she will be joining us at the Elks afterall!  YEAH!!

Tonight will be wonderful, but we’re losing Bob.  The nice thing is that Michle and Franklyn will be joining us again!

The wearing of the green!

We finally surrendered at 10:00 pm—waved the white flag, accepted defeat, and crawled into bed like it was a witness protection program.  Thirty seconds later we were sawing logs.

Posted in Dining Out, Doctor, Friends, Just Us, Vegetable Garden | Leave a comment

Thursday Has Arrived!

Posted on Thursday, March 5, 2026 by Paul

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

We love the weather!  One week it is in the 80s, the next in the high 60s, and the following week back to the 80s!  What is going on?  Must be that pesky “Global Warming”!

While we were enjoying our coffee and protein drink, Mary kicked off her bi-monthly tradition: The Great Pill Sorting.

The process is highly technical and broken into three phases:

  1. Mary assumes the role of Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, calmly selecting pills and precision-dropping them into the tiny compartments, as if she’s playing geriatric Tetris.
  2. I become the on-call warehouse intern, sprinting back and forth down the hallway to our state-of-the-art Medication Storage Facility (also known as “that cabinet”) to retrieve whatever we’re mysteriously out of—despite owning enough bottles to stock a small yacht.
  3. Finally, I contact CVS on our exclusive VIP hotline (because we are obviously their favorite customers) and order whatever Mary announces, like I’m taking requests at a very slow, very expensive drive-thru.

It’s a smooth operation: Mary organizes, I cardio, and CVS updates our customer profile to “frequent flyer.”

Sorting the pills!

We had our coffee, then went out to the garden to do what can only be described as “light gardening” that somehow turned into a full-scale landscaping documentary.
The patio is actually looking really good—so good, in fact, we officially uncovered the swing for the Spring/Summer season, which is basically the homeowner version of taking the convertible out of storage.

Then I inspected the patio drip-line sprinklers like a man defusing a bomb made of plastic tubing and questionable decisions.  After a few adjustments and replacements (and only minor negotiations with the parts that wouldn’t cooperate), the system is back online.

Bottom line: the patio is thriving, the swing is ready for action, and all the babies are finally getting the moisture they deserve—unlike us, who are now headed to the Elks Lodge for “Girls Night Out,” aka the part of the day where we stop watering plants and start hydrating ourselves.

Today we were a very small but mighty crew—only five of us: Bill, Bob, George, and us.  Which immediately raises the question: where on earth is Iris?  We’re going to call and make sure she’s okay, because her absence was definitely noticed.

Also, the parking lot was NOT okay.  The lodge had two events going on at the same time, and parking turned into an expedition—we ended up in the “north 40,” hiking in like we were arriving at a county fair.

Honestly, though, that’s the kind of problem we’re happy to have.  Those rentals keep the lights on and the bills paid, and it makes sense—this is a genuinely nice facility, and unlike some places, when they host an event, they don’t serve “rubber chicken.”

Line dancing keeps us young!

Our weekly conversations tend to drift anywhere from the mundane to the completely ridiculous, and today I decided to lob a little “tech history” into the middle of this elderly group:

“Does anyone remember what WYSIWYG means?”

Nothing.  Total silence.  If crickets had been present, they would’ve felt awkward.

I got one confidently wrong answer from Bob.  Bill squinted at the letters and admitted he recognized them, but couldn’t remember what they stood for.  Mary was too young to be expected to know, and George just gave me his classic,” Huh?”

And then—just when I was feeling smug—I realized I couldn’t place it right away either.  Once it finally surfaced (“What You See Is What You Get”), I had to admit the truth:

Apparently, I’m part of the group after all.

Thank you, Google, for enlightening us old farts and informing the kid (Mary)!

We finally departed the Elks and went home to “rest,” but we had to stop at the cleaners and retrieve our cowboy uniforms since tonight is “Line Dancing Night”.

Mary took a nap, and I battened down the hatches for the expected windstorm coming our way!

At 4:00 pm, the Alexa alarm went off—much to Mary’s dismay—because apparently, Alexa has appointed herself Chief of “Time to Leave” Operations.

That was my 60-minute warning to get cleaned up and ready to go, which meant I launched into a full-speed transformation from “yard creature” to “civilized human.” I jumped in the shower and rinsed off the impressive collection of dirt I’d accumulated while working outside.  I’m pretty sure half of it was actual soil, and the other half was just stubbornness.

A few minutes later, I was ready to roll—fully dressed and topped off with my ten-gallon Stetson… which fits rather loosely.  So while I looked like I was heading out to wrangle cattle, the hat was more like,” Wheee!” and it tried to leave my head at every sudden movement.  If you see a cowboy chasing his own hat down the driveway, that was me: rugged, mysterious, and slightly out of breath.

We got there about 30 minutes before the dancing began, so we ordered dinner.  The girls had the salad bar while I consumed massive quantities!

Dianne gets warmed up!

We observed Dianne’s boots and began to worry as we thought we saw some smoke emanating from the soles!

Gettin’ hot!!

After pouring a glass of water on her boots, Dianne and Mary both went out to learn a new line dance.   Toes were tapping, and bodies were moving.  I stayed at the table holding down the fort.  We had great fun!

Taking lessons.

We departed around 8:30 pm, as the dance floor had become a danger zone for amateur line dancers.  Hips were flying, boots were kicking, and the dust was so thick it was hard to see.

We ended up watching “Suits” in the TV/Living Room, but alas, I hit the La-Z-Boy and immediately began checking for light leaks out like a light!

We finally went to bed at 10:30 pm.

Posted in Dancing, Dining Out, Elks, Friends, Uncategorized | Leave a comment