Today was a do-nothing day, and we did exactly that! We worked in the office for a while, and then we walked into the garden, where Mary picked some onions and peppers, which we diced and sliced. Mary added them to the scrambled eggs. Delicious!
The peppers looked hot, but they were indeed mild!
Mary made hard-boiled eggs using a new countertop device. We have the settings down pat and can cook the eggs in just a few minutes.
We got the induction desktop for making fondue, but it has also found other uses!
The beet leaf adds color and is entirely reasonable to eat raw. The tomatoes are out of our garden today.
Pretty enough to paint!
We are attempting to empty the refrigerators and freezers before cooking more goodies, and Mary suggested having pizza for brunch!
The last of the pizzas are now history.
We returned to the office, took showers, and freshened up. Afterward, we visited Jan and stayed with her for several hours. We also talked with Mike Andersen to see how he was doing after his fall. Additionally, we spoke with Vicky to ensure that Irene and Brenda had a ride for tonight.
Then, we talked to the Nine Carat Gold group members to see what they were doing tomorrow evening and catch up on things.
Sharing with friends!
As we departed, we toured the remaining Christmas lights in the neighborhood.
Bye Bye, Christmas lights!
We went to Aces and had some stuffed Jalapenos before heading home. Returning home, we crashed at 8:00 pm, oh my! We must be ready for tomorrow evening. Jan is going with us, and we will have sixteen others at our table.
Today, we had planned to go to the desert in a motorhome and join our son and grandson and friends in the Anza Borego State Park. However, it got canceled at the last minute, so we decided to take the car and spend several hours with everyone.
We stopped at Salton City to grab a burger before heading to the campsite.
The food was quite good, although a little expensive for a hole-in-the-wall!
We all had burgers except Robin, who did the BLT.
The waitress was super; very friendly.
Longitude and Lattitude described the location; there are no streets nearby! We are in the desert! As we got close, we called, and Joe met us at the Salton Seaway to guide us into camp.
Did we say desolate?
Joe showed off his rebuilt sand rail, which looked pretty snazzy, thanks to a lot of labor provided by him and the kids! It was pretty beat up when he first got it, but now it could win a contest!
Snazzy, although it needed a Genuine Plastic bobblehead Jesus on the dashboard to make it perfect!
Joe said, Let’s go for a little easy ride. I, of course, jumped at the opportunity! Thinking he remembered I was his Dad, making me nearly 80 years old, so I thought he would go easy. Well, that was proven incorrect!
I am holding my teeth to keep them from falling out.
My son (now officially ex-son) took the old man on a hair-raising ride (I only have one hair, to begin with). We went from sea level to 10,000 feet up a 90-degree grade in a little under two nanoseconds.
There is sand on (and in) my body in places where sand should not be! Contrary to anything Joe might tell you, I did NOT scream like a little girl, and my grip on the sand rail steel tubing did not leave permanent fingernail marks.
The passenger seat stains are something that I will have to admit to! Was it a rough ride? Now, I can scratch my knees by reaching under my arm. My bladder has since notified me it is going on strike due to organ abuse!
Four generations! Paul taking the picture, son Joe, Grandson Zachary, and Great Grandson Remington
I guess it runs in the family. Look at Lilly, all eight years old, zip off on her motorcycle. Go, get ’em, girl! The movie is just 15 seconds long.
After allowing my body to redistribute all the organs from where they were originally located, we went for a safari (desert talk for going on a ride). The masked bandit is the grandson, Nick.
Hang on there, bro!
We made it to the gas domes. The Gas Domes are yet another unique geologic feature of the Anza-Borrego area. These two small mud pots remind us that Anza-Borrego is still geologically active.
The Earth’s crust is particularly thin here, and as underground water passes close to the hot magma just under this crust, it percolates up and creates these Gas Domes.
It’s pretty interesting, as it is in the middle of nowhere!
Mary loves the outdoors and she jumped out of the Jeep and headed for the sign which described the local area.
Mary reads the signage.
I asked Joe to slink down so I would not look like a midget, but the truth is out! He outgrew his papa!
I must say that my heart swelled up in pride after Carmin, our Jeep captain, described how much Joe was such a smart, caring, and super gentleman, always available to help others and be with his family and friends! We are proud of him, and I guess I did OK bringing him up!
My wonderful son and I are watching the world go by!
All the guys are together, thanks to Captain Mary, who got us organized, much like herding cats. That’s me in the center, surrounded by three grandkids: Charlie, Alex, and Nick!
The guys asked Mary’s permission to leave the formation! She trained them well!
Just us! Mary loves the outdoors and being a Desert Rat, so we will go along with the gang next time they go out, but we will definitely have a large motorhome.
We allow our bones to resume their normal position before we jump back in the Jeep for the trip home.
We rode in the Jeep belonging to Joe and Amy’s friend Carmin. It was air-conditioned, had GPS, and had springs. It also had an air-filtered cabin, so bring on the dust; we were clean. The baby dog enjoyed the ride and went to sleep while Mary and I were hanging on for dear life!
“Mommy! Mommy! Go faster!!”
We returned to camp just before the sun was about to set.
Joe’s was one of about six rigs that circled the central campfire.
We scampered down S22 to the Salton Sea and grabbed a nibble at Subway! A little farther down the road, we filled the tank and put the Silver Fox on autopilot, arriving at Robin’s at about 8:00 pm. We did a fly-by and went home because Scout had been alone all day, and we missed him.
We woke up early and awaited feedback from our ISP. Overnight, he got all site navigation working, but now we need to connect Dreamweaver to the site. It’s just a matter of time. We departed for the Elks and Girls’ Night Out at 11:00 am so we could finalize our seating arrangements. Perfect for us dancers!
They say New York City has the best New Year’s celebration, but I say it’s overrated. Every year they drop the ball.
Vicky suggested that we rotate seats every 15 minutes, allowing everyone to visit with each other.
We can seat sixteen very easily!
When we reached home, we collected the mail and removed our inflatable Christmas decorations. I decided to get creative with the outdoor lighting and arranged them in a “Meteor Shower” theme, with blue and white colors brightly illuminating the house.
Upon opening the mail, I received a great picture of my two nieces and my great-nephew celebrating his first Christmas. Wow, he looks just like me, and he’s so adorable!
Making something good!
We are going to start walking two miles every day and I was just getting things ready for our exercise when Maey asked what I was doing1
We watched “The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas” because Mary was reading her new book about Dolly Pardon and it reminded her of that movie.
We hit the sack at 11:00 pm to get up by 8:30 am tomorrow for our desert adventure.
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Yesterday, we were lounging around lazily, but today, we are buzzing with activity like busy bees!
At 9:00 am, we hit the road to go to my doctor’s appointment for a blood test, which, by the way, I had studied for all night long. While driving on the freeway, Mary kept herself busy with the iPhone by making appointments, confirming them, and letting people know we were coming. It’s incredible to think about how we managed without iPhones before. She is a one-person office replacing a staff of ten!
Martha told us, “I am delighted to inform you that you have passed the blood test.” I drank two bottles of water this time while on my way to the office! Martha located my vein without any difficulty. However, I did experience some leakage of about a pint of water during the procedure.”
She looked at the blood she had drawn and gave us her expert opinion!
We went to Chico’s for post-Christmas shopping, and Mary hit the jackpot. I rented a small trailer to tow behind the car with her new outfits.
They never saw what hit them!!
During our visit to Los Alamitos, we stopped by Vicky’s to drop off her ice chest and gifted her some of the magic furniture polish we use at home. It’s effective!
We went to the Elks Lodge to have lunch with Bob Z and finalize our New Year’s Eve plans. We had soup and salad, which was wonderful!
We arranged for a long table to accommodate our group of sixteen people. Having friends is an essential part of living.
Most of the gang will be with us!
We only stayed for an hour before returning on today’s cross-country (or county) adventures.
We both had soup and salad; it was terrific!
After lunch, we quickly went home after stopping at Starbucks for some last-minute shopping.
Mary and I had a tough day at work. She was having issues with Verizon and her computer while I was dealing with my internet service provider, who was supposed to transfer my website to a dedicated server. By 4:00 pm, we both needed a break, so we decided to go to Ralph’s Market, get some snacks, and pay a visit to Jan.
We visited Jan for a good hour, drank a glass of wine, and devoured several pieces of sushi and some pinwheels, Jan’s favorite. That meal was not kind to our weight loss program!
BTW, Jan said she would join us on New Year’s Eve; YEAH!!!
She is still giggling about Christmas Day and visiting everyone! We love Jan’s smile; it lights up the room!
Maybe we need to get an Electric Calculator for her?
While chatting away with Jan and getting ready to go, we checked the security cameras, and the cleaning crew was about to leave.
Scout was outside and not inside getting tookies, so we knew they were leaving!
We headed home, which is a six-minute drive, 1.1 miles to be exact.
We called Dianne and David to see if they were home and available for a visit. It was also the perfect time for Santa to visit them. We had a good time catching up, but unfortunately, David was called in to perform an autopsy, so we had to cut our visit short.
We decided to stop by Aces for a quick glass of wine before going home. We changed the jukebox to good music and visited with Mary, the bartender. She had six “kids,” so I asked when she found out what had caused that. We had a good laugh!
We met up with Skylar and some regulars to pass the time before going home.
We arrived home, and Scout greeted us with his tail waggling at 76.8 rotations per second. He almost blew the coffee pot off the counter! He heard rumors of a New Year’s Eve party and wanted to know what he should wear.
“Tell me when and where; I will be there with bells on!!”
We started watching a movie but stopped halfway and saved it for later. Though tired, it was a productive day.
We are a good team!
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After his date, we decided we needed a father-to-son talk about manners and how to impress the ladies!
This morning, we quickly got started with our day. We walked around the backyard and did some minor tasks around the house to prepare for the housekeepers. By the end of it, we were exhausted and could hardly do anything else.
We worked in the garden in the morning and then got cleaned up and ready to receive guests around 4:00 pm. Mrs. Santa Claus took a stroll through the garden before everyone arrived.
I was checking to see which veggies were naughty and which were lovely!
Then the doorbell rang, and family and friends showed up.
Jan was the first to arrive, courtesy of Mr. Santa!
We quickly got busy after Mrs. Claus took charge of the kitchen, and Bob and Robin joined in to help. The dinner was warmed up and set out for everyone to take their pick. Our local Chinese restaurant, Yang Ming, provided us with delicious dishes to enjoy. Chinese food has become our tradition, along with watching “A Christmas Story” later in the evening.
Wine time!
Jan, our expert chef, makes our selections carefully!
Jan carefully makes her selections!
Our tables were full, and the noise level decreased significantly as the guests devoured dinner.
Time to visit and share stories of yesteryear!
Someone was having fun and filling their plate!
I’ll have what Jan has!
After dinner, Robin brought over her father-in-law’s collection of Polish items for a “Show and Tell.” He was a great Polish storyteller.
Jan got a kick out of the Polish Electric Calculator!
Amy, Joe, and their sons joined us again this year, adding to the holiday cheer. Though we missed having Colleen and Michele with us, we understand that distance and family obligations come first.
Due to AI, they took a quick trip to the snow!
After dinner, we engage in meaningful conversations and enjoy the company of Santa, Vicky, and Jim.
Stories are shared, and laughter ensues!
Watch out for these two when they are together!
Victory will be the case!
Scout-A-Puss sat back and watched everything going on, and then a hand was dropped to someone’s side; he raced over and kept it busy!
“Oh, Dear, I see an arm dropping to the scratching position; I shall return!”
Mary and I enjoy the season and sharing it with family and friends. She is a beautiful hostess, and I am fortunate to have her as my partner!
We enjoy a glass of vino and watch all the interactions between our family and friends. Life is good!
Good night, everyone, and we hope you had a fantastic Christmas like we did. God Bless!
We woke at 6:00 am and started working in the garden by 7:00 am. We planted sweet peas, trimmed the grape vines, and finished mulching the planted areas. I finally fixed the faucet in the backyard after it had been leaking for a week.
We quickly prepared the mulled wine bowl and sugar cone support tray before the evening began; we wanted to be ready for the main event! What is the event, you ask? It si the Feuerzangenbowle? FOY-yer-zang-en-bowl-eh. Say that ten times fast.
Cooking makes the entire house smell like a winery, hic!!
At noon, I went to the market to get the last-minute goodies. We expect to see the whites of their eyes by 5:00 pm today; let the party begin!
“If they are not here on time, I will bite them!!”
Bob and Robin arrived on time,e and Bob immediately got to work in the kitchen, moving quickly and skillfully like a chef with a passion for cooking. The sound of his chopping was loud and intense, and the knife hit the wooden cutting board with impressive speed and precision.
The hands of a surgeon!
The pierogies were lined up and ready to meet their fate in the hot water of Orange, CA. The chopped sausages were also prepared to meet the boiling oil and make the house smell wonderful!!
Dinner was served,d and Dianne’s salad was a great hit!
We attacked the salad and pierogies with a vengeance; the neighbors wondered where the excellent munching sound came from.
Now we get serious and prepare the Feuerzangenbowle, a Flaming German Rum Punco called burnt sugar punch! Easy to make at home! But we would suggest being within two blocks of a fire station!
What is in a Feuerzangenbowle? Feuerzangenbowle – Feuerzangenbowle is prepared in a bowl, similar to a fondue set, which is usually suspended over a small burner (Rechaud). The bowl is filled with heated dry red wine spiced with cinnamon sticks, cloves, star anise, and orange peel, similar to mulled wine.
Thank you, Hans and Kerstin, for introducing this fantastic tradition to our group!!
Burn Baby Burn!
The trick is to get the cone soaked in 90-proof rum and ladle the liquor onto the sugar cube without setting the house on fire. Mary, using her surgical skills, was able to do this easily.
Sugar is melting due to the rum being set on fire.
After two snorts of this concoction, the girls were still young, and they decided to do a pose for us!
Did You know? The three wise monkeys are a Japanese pictorial maxim, embodying the proverbial principle “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.”. The three monkeys are Mizaru, who sees no evil, covering his eye’s Kikazaru, who hears no evil, covering his ear; and Iwazaru, who speaks no evil, covering his mouth.
Everybody that believes this, stand uMaryAry makes sure all the alcohol is gone so Nick and Paul will be allowed to imbibe!
Ladling is a science!
Family having fun together!
Everyone got the same memo! Red is the color of choice!
Today, we spent the day running errands and preparing for Christmas Eve. We went to the store to buy paper for our printers, visited the Polish Deli (Polka Deli in Orange, CA) to get some fresh pierogis, and stopped by Albertson’s to buy $250 worth of groceries, most of it not on the list. We are all set and ready to go for tomorrow!
We filled the shopping cart to the brim and are ready for tomorrow!
We got a little bit of everything, including beer for David, cherry pie for everyone, salad mixes, whipped cream, and a basket full of other items requiring us to use our unique skills to store them!
Out of the way, an overloaded cart is coming through.
Upon our return home, we had to reorganize all three refrigerators/freezers to accommodate the new purchases. They now resemble Fibber McGee’s closet, with warning signs: “CAUTION WHEN OPENING!”
We look forward to family getting together, but we have a policy; you are welcome, but do NOT feel pressured! If something else is in the way, go for it!
We are expecting:
David & Dianne
Robin, Bob, Kayla, and Nick
Jeff Smith
Zack, Becca, Lilly, and Bullet
Connor
Joe, Amy, Charlie, and Alex (Maybe Christmas Day?)
Us
Yes Indeed!!!
We watched three movies while preparing for tomorrow. Mary was worried about everything being just right, so I gave her some advice!
The suggestion worked well!
We set up the tables and arranged the place settings, and Mary prepared many of the horses’ do-overs!
Mary informed me last night why the spaghetti was large!!
There is something I need to report. Mary is trying to get rid of me!! Mary signed me up for her gym, and I had a session with a trainer the size of Godzilla. That woman pushed and pulled my tiny body to the limits. She was proud that she made my body into every letter of the English, Cyrillic, and Greek alphabet.
I was not able to drive home or get into the car. Mary went home after she tied me to the hood of the car, and to add insult to injury, she fastened the antlers from the rear side window of the car to my head and painted my nose red. I was so embarrassed, especially after she drove through McDonald’s and In-N-Out honking the horn.
She was reminded that I do not get mad; I get even! Then she drove through the neighborhood, honking the horn and calling to the neighbors.
We finally returned home and cleaned up for our errands and dinner with James. I indulged in a relaxing hour-long soak with three pounds of Epsom salts in the hot tub. After the bath, I felt lighter and able to move more quickly. I went down the stairs and onto the grass before finally returning to change my clothes.
We spent several hours doing errands, including shoe shopping and going to Roger’s Garden for presents for Donna and a set of sweetpeas for our garden.
Roger’s was full of people, but we lucked out and got a parking spot in front of the checkout stand.
We wandered through the gardens and got six sweetpea plants we will plant tomorrow.
It was cool outside, in the mid-60s.
We went to Los Alamitos and stopped at Imperial Jewelers for paperwork. Then, we did a flyby at Vicky’s home just a few blocks away.
Wow, just as I remembered it 12 years ago!
We headed to Patty’s, where we dined in style, sharing memories, and as it turns out, Mary spent a lot of time in the same neighborhood as James. We shared a lot and made some golf plans for next year.
The Silver Fox went home, and we brought Jeff, our neighbor, lamb chops for dinner, which he enjoyed.
We watched “How It Ends,” a science-fiction movie about the end of the world as we know it. Summary: A man fights through an unfolding apocalypse in a desperate attempt to return to his pregnant wife, who is thousands of kilometers away.
I feel fortunate to have such a beautiful partner in life! We enjoy every moment with each other.
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The rain had stopped for a while, so we went to the garden to check on everything. The first stop is the rain gauge. We expected more than half an inch, but it speaks the truth.
1/2 inch, so says the gauge!
Our veggies are beginning to grow. The baby cauliflower was the first one to show signs.
Cauliflower is rich in vitamin C, which is good for skin, healing, and gum health. It is a cruciferous vegetable that helps prevent colon cancer. Cauliflower means “cabbage flower” because it is a flower that has not fully developed. Cauliflower is related to broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage.
The cauliflower is beginning to show signs of growth!
Be patient, Grasshopper; you will soon grow up!
Yummy!!
We have all sorts of lettuce underway, ranging from Butter Lettuce to a red leaf variety. There will be many salads in our future.
Amazingly, these little guys enjoy the water and the cold!
Mary checks out the back forty to see how the grass is growing and decides when to cut the grapes back. We estimate February first for a severe haircut for all the grapes.
Professor Green Thumb at work!
While walking around the pool, Mary noticed some roses heavy with dew. She decided to test out the new macro lens on her iPhone 15.
Mother Nature is magnificent!
Now for the macro-lense picture!
It’s too bad the sun isn’t shining bright; the dewdrops would have been shining brightly.
We went inside, had our coffee, and messed around in the office before getting ready for Girls’ Night Out. I selected my shirt and got some remarks from Mary!
NOT FUNNY!!!
I suggested we make a fruitcake, and Mary found an excellent recipe!
Making A Fruitcake:
1. Go to the crafts store.2. Purchase one or more bags of dried fruit, some plaster of Paris, brown paint, and a disposable cake pan.3. Return home.
4. Unwrap the dried fruit, carefully fold the wrapper inside out, and place it at the bottom of your trash can. Better yet, send it through your personal paper shredder and use it for insulation in the attic.
5. Mix the plaster of Paris with water and pour into the disposable cake pan. Place dried fruit on top, gently pushing in so it looks “baked” in the “batter.” Let dry.
6. Take your “fruitcake” out of the disposable cake pan.
7. Cover the top, bottom, and sides with brown paint, avoiding the fruit.
8. Wrap your “fruitcake” in festive, colored saran wrap and finish with a bow. I like using red wrap because it gives a warm glow to the “fruitcake.
“9. Give your “fruitcake” to someone you want to impress. When they lift it, they’ll say, “Wow! You must have made a rich fruitcake!” Don’t forget to smile and say, “Oh, it’s Paris-style fruitcake.”
10. Don’t worry about someone trying to eat your fruitcake. Nobody actually eats fruitcake … that’s just a rumor. Just so you know, the dried fruit won’t go “bad” because it has the same preservatives as Twinkies, which have a shelf-life of about 237 years.
We grabbed a quick lunch at the Elks and caught up with friends, then headed to Corona to pick up Bob, Robin, Kayla, and Nick.
Merry Christmas all!
It was a 30-minute ride to Corona from Santa Ana, and we arrived just in time to visit and jump back in the van, and head to Riverside.
Grab a coat, it might be cold!
We had to stop by their family Christmas tree and go searching for new things that were added this year!
What do you get when you cross an archer with a gift-wrapper? Ribbon hood.
Mary loved that tree!
We got to the Inn just in time for our 4:00 pm reservation at the Italian Trattoria.
The hotel is a magnificent structure.
We had a great meal and enjoyed a $200 bottle of champagne at a perfect table in the enclosed patio. From there, we could observe people bustling back and forth while doing their shopping.
I remember asking my mother, “Can I have a dog for Christmas?” She answered, ” No you can have turkey like everyone else.”
Smile!
Ah, youth! It’s too bad it is wasted on the young!
Bob and Robin are a delight to be with on any occasion!
Kayla and Nick seemed to enjoy the evening.
Why was the snowman looking through the carrots? He was picking his nose!
Always a smile! (What are they up to?)
Of course, we always enjoy any occasion where we are together!
Love that girl!
We went to the galleria and walked around for quite a while seeking treasures.
One could spend hours inside this four-story building.
Mary did find a treasure, a wrap dating back to the 1940s. It was a perfect fit!
Looking good!
From the antique store, we walked back through the hotel before finding the Grey Ghost and heading for home.
Enter with care!
Driving home was easy, and we dropped off the kids before the incoming rain. We made it home by 9:30 pm and watched a Christmas movie with Henry Winkler. Summary:
Corporate analyst and single mom Jen tackles Christmas with a business-like approach until her uncle arrives with a handsome stranger in tow.
We can seat sixteen very easily!
