We are busier than a one legged man in a butt kickin’ contest.
The day started with a trip to the hardware store where we bought nada…walked the entire tool section and we did not NEED anything! I was looking for a pink orchid but they were out…so I went down the street and got a case of champagne from Total Wine and then came home! Poof!
Our motto!
Returning home, we had brunch finishing off our Indian food and some mushroom soup! Delicious!
Today is going to be a little cooler…perhaps 84 degrees…maybe Fall in on her way! I worked in the yard a bit but had a surprise. While in the garage, our neighbor call to me. I went out front and she pointed out that someone, probably kids, picked one of my watermelons and smashed it on the ground. Why the senseless damage?
I am enjoying cooking so much I bought a new Circulon 14″ skillet from Amazon.
Now I can do my weekly protein-hit breakfast in one pan!
We just messed around the house and decided not to go dancing this evening…that derned cough and the meds just don’t mix! We watched TV and crashed about 11:00 PM
Grandchildren are the rainbow of life. Great Grandchildren are the pot of gold!
Happy first birthday Remington! A year ago we were awaiting his arrival. We were at the hospital and Remy came right on schedule. Great Grandma and I got to hold him and it was amazing. At this time, we was our fourth great grandchild. It was exciting. Check carefully… our hairstyles match perfectly!
Great Grandpa meets Remington two hours old!
Flash foreword a year and the little man is a little man…running around the house and being watched by his big sister. He is having a party Sunday but we are having a family birthday party next week with Joe and Amy, Pete and Lisa, Robin and Bob, Michele and Franklyn, Gary and Peanut, and us…it’s a family thing!
Obviously takes after his Great Grandfather!
OK, to work! I visited my front yard watermelon patch and we have several beauties going now. I had hidden two large watermelons ion the patch for the kids down the street but they never came back so I gave one to the gardener and one went into the frig for us this weekend. The one below is called a “sugar baby”. Technically we calls it a Citrullus lanatus and it is an incredibly productive grower as well. Sugar Baby melons are round “picnic” or “icebox” watermelons perfect for small families and as the name suggests, small enough to fit into the icebox. They weigh in at between 8 to 10 pounds and are 7-8 inches across
This is a baby… I picked on about three times this size and gave it to the gardners!
We worked around the house and got cleaned up around 5:00 PM in order to go dancing and have dinner at the elks!
Tonight was MPG and they were terrific! Super dance music and we were right on the floor…two steps and we could dance! MPG keeps the volume at an acceptable level,
The band just started as we walked in!
It was a super evening and my camera was absconded with and a picture was snapped when we were not looking! Romance be in the air!
Caught in the act… nothing new! Checkout the shirt… appropriate for our current weather!
The buffet and frankly it was quite nice, chicken, roast beef, and fish with mashed potatoes and veggies. The fresh salad was perfect! Good meal at a whopping $12.00! A couple of drinks and we were on our way!
Did You Know? In the 19th century, supper, a lighter meal some hours after the main dinner, was sometimes served as a buffet (and so called), especially late at night at grand balls, where not everyone present would want to eat, or at the same time, or in the same quantity. Even in a very large building, at a large ball there might not be enough space to seat all guests at the same time, or servants to serve them in the manner required by the prevailing customs. A large cooked English breakfast with various choices was also very often routinely served this way, for similar reasons. Even when many servants were on hand, there might be an element of self-service. The term buffet originally referred to the French sideboard furniture where the food was placed, but eventually became applied to the serving format.
At balls, the “buffet” was also where drinks were obtained, either by circulating footmen supplying orders from guests, but often by the male guests. During the Victorian period, it became usual for guests to have to eat standing up. In fact John Conrade Cooke’s cookbook Cookery and Confectionery, (London: 1824) says it was already “the present fashion”.
We danced until 9:00 PM and then headed for home. We did a waltz, chacha, merengue, several swings, night-club two-step and the ten-step polka in a group!
The new lodge is a beauty!
Arriving home the house was a cool 78 and we watched some TV before crashing! We love the remote control via Alexa. We adusted the air conditioner, turned on the lights in the yard and the house, and she automatically opens the garage door when we come down the street. The toys keep me young!
We have to share the following as we cracked up! We hope you remember what Pop Rocks were! Hard candy (like a lollypop or a Jolly Rancher) is made from sugar, corn syrup, water and flavoring. … To make Pop Rocks, the hot sugar mixture is allowed to mix with carbon dioxide gas at about 600 pounds per square inch (psi). The carbon dioxide gas forms tiny, 600-psi bubbles in the candy.
Nearly fell over laughing!
The clock-hand striketh midnight so it is time to crash!
It’s so hot – I saw two trees fighting over a dog!
We are ready to go…and stay right here all day under the air conditioning. We got an early caller, a nice lady from Medicare doing a followup on Sue’s latest hospitalization. She was quite nice and very informative. I decided to give her a go and it was worth the hour we spent with her.
Next challenge? Mushroom soup! I began cookig several years back and enjoy piddling in the kitchen. Can’t hold a candle to Sue but I enjoy the occasional challenge from the many cooking magazines we take.
While at Ralph’s yesterday, I got three baskets of mushrooms on sale with the thought of making mushroom soup. I sauteed butter and onions and then added mushrooms and vegetarian broth and half-and-half plus the secret ingredient, onion soup mix and voila…wonderful mushroom soup!
Yes, I used a lot of mushrooms!
In the afternoon, we watched some TV as the outside temperature was in the low 90’s. It wasn’t the heat so much as the humidity! According tot he weather bureau, which I always question, the forecast was:
It’s going to be hot tomorrow also!
We got cleaned up to go to the Phoenix Club. Earlier that afternoon, I took some cough medicine to try and clear up a cough but alas, I took too much, and kinda got sick. We stopped by Old Ranch and had a drink until my tummy was feeling better..off to The Phoenix Club at 7:00 PM meeting up with some of the gang! We danced and laughed and shared.
The Reekers showed up and Nancy had beaten the cancer! Yeah! We gave their daughter dance lessons for her wedding and she talked her mom and dad into taking lessons also! Their daughter was a waitress at Seasons 52 and we just hit it off. Good investment as Ron and Nancy still dance and their daughter still dances betwee taking care of three little ones!
Nancy and Ron Reekers
We returned home a little early and again watched some TV before crashing at midnight…after our tookies.
“Middle age is when you’re faced with two temptations and you choose the one that will get you home by nine o’clock.”- R. Reagan
Love being retired with someone I love! Damn, life is great. We awake, shake off the sleepy sand in our eyes, stretch, head for the dining room table and plot the over-through of what might be a bad day! No bad days here! A glass of champagne and a hard look out the front window into the orange tree forest is all it takes to make the day start out right! Yeah!
“Some people ask the secret of our long marriage. We take time to go to a restaurant two times a week. A little candlelight, dinner, soft music, and dancing. She goes Tuesdays, I go Fridays.”
Our cleaning folks are heading this direction meaning we are going out to lunch. Decisions decision!
Got a text message from my cousin Dave Mall (my first cousin, once removed) and wow, was I surprised!. The picture is of Dad and James Ray (my cousin) taken in the mid 1950’s…based upon the car! It was taken in Downey on Stuart Mill Road just up the street from the North American Aviation plant where the Apollo and Space Shuttle were built!
Taken in Downey California
We decided to go to the Royal Khyber in Costa Mesa, our favorite Indian Restaurant! Great food and wonderful service! We began with Samosas. We have been going there for thirty years! We started off with a vegetarian sampler which contained samosa’s amongst the goodies!
Did You Know? A samosa is a fried or baked dish with a savory filling, such as spiced potatoes, onions, peas, meat, or lentils. It may take different forms, including triangular, cone, or half-moon shapes, depending on the region.The Indian style, often accompanied by a chutney, is probably the most widely-known of a broad family of recipes from Africa to China, which have origins in medieval times or earlier.
“Make it spicy!
We both decided to try something new as their menu is just too good to order the same thing…needless to say we took a lot of food home. Mine was HOT HOT HOT…we talking spicy! Sue tried a new dish (Navrattan Korma – A delight for the vegetarians, the 9-jewels put together in rich korma sauce perfumed with kewra essence.) …I said watch out!
We ordered way too much so it is Indian tomorrow for lunch again! Yumm!
Two lamb dishes, Vindaloo and Lamb Rogan Josh
We limped home. windows down, with our tongues flapping in the breeze as we rocketed up the 405 toward Coldstone Creamery where we put out the final burning embers from lunch!
Arriving at home the temperature was in the low 90’s so we hid in the house with the air set at 80 degrees. The humidity was about 40% inside so we stayed quite comfortable.
This blog is approaching 4,000 pages so it was time to assure it is backed up. We decided to go with UpdraftPlus and began the backup…we did not realize we had close to 20 GB of images, databases, and text. We decided to backup the system into Dropbox as well as UpdraftVault once a week.
I did some shopping at Ralph’s including getting two watermelons and hiding them in the watermelon patch out front. We are hoping the folks from down the street come by with their kids (or grandkids) and “pick” the watermelons! It’s so much fun to see the kids eyes light up as they get their own watermelon from “Farmer Paul’s” garden.
Sue was surprised when I came out in by bob overalls…she said that I looked like “Farmer Paul”…it was taken as a complement but I am not too sure. I really don’t care as they a) comfortable, b) have plenty of deep pockets, and c) don’t need the belt squeezing me around the middle!
Paul the “fashion plate”
I also got a new orchid at Ralph’s as I just acquired an “orchid pot” from Amazon. I replanted the orchid according to the new “How To Raise Orchids” book before bringing it into the house.
It’s a beauty
I checked the time and wow, it is getting dark earlier and earlier.
Mr. Orchid wanted in the picture also!
We watched TV, our son Joe called so we jabbered at home for an hour getting the latest on the adventures of the kids!
We watch TV, made our tookies, and crashed at 11:00 PM…a little early but it was too warm to do anything else!
Friend of mine bought a Rolex but the glass popped off and then the mechanism came loose and fell to the floor… I said watch out!
So all that Lenox glassware needed a home so I decided to split it between Lisa and Colleen… they like the fancy stuff and it gets out of my closet! Yeah! It’s on its way! Hello closet space. I wished I could remember how I got it? My faded memory says it was something about Mitch but I just can’t remember? Oh well, it has a good home now!
No surgery today…my plastic surgeon had a family emergency so I am waived off until the 18th at 8:00 AM. After getting the notice and rescheduling, I quickly called Maria, Sue’s hair wizard, and we popped over there for a quick cut.
Sue got her ears lowered (Arkansasism for hair cut) and afterword we went to Old Ranch for a drink and negotiations!…. Yeah! The Old Ranch New Years Eve Party is going to be in the main room. We will be inviting 130 of our friends to join us for New Years Eve with the Nine Carat Gold orchestra and singers…Yeah! I must send the reminder out this evening so people will keep the date open! Many choose to stay at the local hotel…walking distance from the club!
Fun with family! Connor had already departed and Mitch departed with his date… We really missed Colleen and Joe but perhaps next year?
Take a gander at the movie below…just great fun!
Last Year New Years Eve
After a drink at Old Ranch. we scooted home to buy a cake for Sunday’s Birthday celebrations. Then to Patty’s Place for another drink (and a visit with Chuck) before going home. We sat around the bar for an hour visiting the locals and swapping stories.
One of the people had Alexa’s around the house and their kids said to Miss Alexa “Set alarm for 3:00 AM and then 3:15 AM and then 3:30 AM”. Mom and Dad did not think that very funny.
Arriving home, Sue read for a while and I did some arranging in the garage…had to put all the “consumables” in one single place! After I began doing the marketing as Sue was not able, I bought cases of TP, paper towels, kleenex from Amazon but my ordering got out of hand… I could not open my own market! But it’s all in one place, I can see the boxes, and I have a system!
Froggie keeps an eye on things!
Time to watch TV, have our tookies, and crash! About tookies…for the last year, I set the dial on 350 and determined 16 minutes was perfect. OK, out of curiosity, I got an accurate oven thermometer and decided to adjust the dial so that the inside temperature would be 350 degrees. Easy piezy, but, I didn’t think about adjusting the time so…I burnt the tookies. We are going back to 350 as indicated on the knob and 16 minutes…so bye to an accurate inside temperatiure!
While doing the daily diary I heard Mr. Raccoon again. This time, I got rid of him without water! I turned on my powerful flashlight and set it for rapid blink…like a strobe light…made him dizzy because as he walked down the wall, he fell over hit the ground and scampered away shaking his head!
“OK I am going away… BTW, I prefer the water to the strobe light!”
After setting UpDraftPlus to backup this blog, I crashed! We have 154 months in the blog so far. The backup software chunks the blog into 400 MB pieces and automatically saves it to three of our backup locations but it takes a full day to happen.
Good night all for tomorrow brings more wondrous things!
“If all the cars in the United States were placed end to end… it would probably be Labor Day Weekend.” ~ Doug Larson
We had our champagne and then it was obvious to me…I needed to go shopping at Lowe’s. Off I go…then we had the “GREAT MOOKIE ADVENTURE”.
What is a “Mookie Adventure” you ask? Well it is when a LFBP (Little Fast Black Puppy) gets loose and runs around the streets. So, how did it sart?
Minding my own business, I noticed a black streak dash across of the street in from of me… ten second last a 40-some guys took off across the street and ten second later his bride began the chase. This dog was FAST…they got within ten feet and off he went again! IDEA! I stopped, invited the wife to ride with me and we got ahead of the LFBP. Mom in front, Dad in back, me providing taxi service.
The littler bugger escaped again so this time I pocked upo the Dad and got him out in front. The idea worked…Mookie cold not figure out how Mom and Dad was surrounding him…and they were NOT out of breath! Mom finally trapped him and up in her arms he went.
I took the LFBP, and his Mommy and Daddy back to their house. Success. Project Mookie was a success!
As fast as the wind!
My journey can now continue so Lowe’s here I come. I was looking for a few things I needed in the shop and success was mine. Returning home, we had breakfast/brunch and then it was time for the garden. I removed another six tomato plants and have only three remaining from this years garden. More munch is needed so I have to find someone with a pickup to get me five bales of straw.
Could not resist!!
we watched TV, did the tookies, and crashed! Tomorrow may be a busy day!
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Birthday: The anniversary of the day God slapped you on the butt and said, “Okay Kid, go get in the game. Play hard, play fair, and don’t get too many penalty flags.”
Sue is feeling normal so we are off at 10:00 AM heading to San Juan Capistrano (45 minutes down the coast) to meet up with the Duda’s and Chartier’s at Trevor’s At The Tracks.
We are celebrating Pete’s 49th birthday and we have known him for almost 30 years as he was our son-in-law for ten years…now he has been promoted to son! He was happily married to Lisa and they live in Oceanside so we get to see them all the time!
Trevors is a block from SJC and right on the tracks!
We arrived exactly at the same time … pretty good since we came from Seal Beach, Corona, and Oceanside!
San Juan Capistrano at Trevor’s At The Tracks;Celebrating Pete’s Birthday!
We got a private room away from all the noise (we made enough ourselves) and spend three hours sharing, eating and of course, an occasional drink. Join the fun.
As parents, it is so nice to see your family get along…we only wish Colleen, Joe, and Michele could have joined us but next weekend we are doing the same for Lisa and Michele and Joe will be with us! Yeah!! We really miss Colleen as she is just a special person…darn those pesky miles!
San Juan Capistrano at Trevor’s At The Tracks; Celebrating Pete’s Birthday!
Such fun…warms our hearts
San Juan Capistrano at Trevor’s At The Tracks; Grandma is her normal loving self!
After the party we headed home and our new frig was awaiting us! I got it ready and plugged it in…now where to put it. Must be easy to get too but out of the way of the shop…tomorrow will tell!
We watched TV for a while before crashing. It’s been a super wonderful day!
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Smoking will kill you… Bacon will kill you… But, smoking bacon will cure it.
It’s going to be just fine… Sue is on her way home today! Yeah! The doc gave her a special anti-biotic to take for five days and then off she goes.
Between visits I did some more organizing…got new dinner table placemats for Fall, new centerpiece, and cleaned up the garage freezer as Zack is coming to get it… It’s 24 cu ft and much more than we need so I bought a new 18 cu ft one from Lowe’s…delivered tomorrow! All the cold wine and beer we could want right next to my tool bench! Amazing!
Is America great or what? Shopped at 11;00 am, bought at 11:10 AM, delivered the next day!
Zack and family are sick…duh! Lilly has started kindergarten so she is a walking petri dish! We loaded the old freezer and odd they went.
We took dancing tonight up to a vote and it was 2-0, stay home and rest.
Tomorrow we are celebrating Pete’s birthday in San Juan Capistrano!
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You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.
Could not sleep last night as I was worried about Sue and how she was doing in the hospital…would she know me this morning or not? For some reason I kept thinking about elementary school…perhaps because we are having lunch with Joel Prell, a guy I met in kindergarden in 1948 and we are still friends. I lost him for thirty years but with Sue and her love for life, we got reconnected and see each other every six months or so now!
I remember at the height of the Cold War, with the threat of a nuclear war looming, American we were being taught to “duck and cover” – as part of drill in case the bomb was dropped on the United States. This photo was taken in 1951 – and is very amusing/naive/scary to think that this exercise would somehow save lives if Russia dropped a nuclear bomb on their city. The sad truth is, a nuclear firebomb would rip through their classroom. Fun little films, with catchy songs and animated turtles were produced to show kids how to properly duck and cover during a surprise nuclear attack. This was life during the Atomic Age.
Those hard backed seats with the flip top desk were standard and in the upper left hand corner, the ink well! Do you remember?
Around 5:00 AM I fell asleep until about 6:30 AM. Getting up I remembered I had not eaten since Tuesday so to the refrigerator I hurled myself tossing the necessary ingredients for a protein pig-out on the counter.
Two eggs, two ham steaks, four pieces of bacon, two hot port sausages, and two English muffins!
This means I did not have to eat all day long! I am now beow 215 pounds… On my way to the magic 195!
Just askin’
It’s 10:00 AM and I was on my way to the hospital when Sue called! She knew me and was back to normal…yeah! She was doing great when I showed up! Such good news.
She’s back!
After a visit I headed home to do some shopping. First BB&B then Ralph’s and finally a pickup at Staples. Approaching 6:15 PM, I decided hospital food was not in her future so Taco Surf here I come. Two veggie taco’s were the perfect pick.
On the way back tot he hospital with dinner, Sue called but it was Irene’s phone number…Irene decided to visit. Irene stayed until I showed up. Sue went through the dinner like a hot knife trough butter! Poof, dinner disappeared.
Around 9:30 PM it was time to go home and crash…doing nothing all day is difficult! I crashed after watching a documentary on Abbott and Costello!
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When an employment application asks who is to be notified in case of emergency, I always write, “A very good doctor”.
We got off to a great start working in the kitchen and then in the garage. We talked to Lisa on the bat phone at 8:00 AM making arrangements to meet on Sunday.
We were ready to go dance the night away!
We were supposed to take pictured at the “Rat Pack Special” at the Phoenix Club tonight.
At 10:00 AM it was time to clean up and head for the Neurologist for a checkup. We arrived promptly at 11:30 AM and as I was checking in, I noticed Sue non-responsive. Checking several times, she was still non-responsive. OMG!
If you are going to have a medical issue, best placed to have it is in a doctors office adjacent to the ER…She did and we were!
The doc put her in a wheelchair and we were off…about a block run but the nice thing is we went from ER front door to ER room in 30 seconds!
ER at 11:45 AM
For three hours they ran tests and moved her to the regular hospital at 4:30 ish. Irene came to stay with me so at 6:00 PM I could go home and get cleaned up to return! God Bless Irene!
I stayed until about 9:30 PM and decided she was going to sleep the ret of the evening…their best guess was a severe UTI which affected her brain. The scary part is thatg it happened in a period of 15 minutes…without any warning!
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