Happy Fall And Time To Get Busy!

Posted on Saturday, September 21, 2024 by Paul

The first day of fall in Los Angeles is on Sunday, September 22, 2024, at 8:44 am, the autumnal equinox. This is the astronomical start of fall, and it occurs when the sun passes directly over the equator, making day and night nearly equal in length.

Today, we are off to a busy day, beginning with a trip to the Polish Festival with Bob and Robin! Hopefully, we won’t end up doing the polka all day long with pierogis flying everywhere!

The kids came by the house to get us, but I ended up driving. I guess they just wanted to enjoy the festival without having to deal with my *exceptional* parallel parking skills, which I ended up not using.

The parking situation was so bad that it felt like we were participating in an extreme sport just to find a spot! We walked to the festival, but Bob had to retrieve the car as my sciatica was acting up fiercely.

The decimal point needed to be corrected; it was 2.0 miles.

We walked all around the festival and found some interesting things.  The kids got their pictures taken.

You are looking good!

We had to follow suit.

Great fun at the fair.

There were continuous performances on stage, everything from plays to dancing and music.  Many of the people spoke in Polish but the signage was all in English or we would have been in trouble.

The kids loved dancing for the crowds.

So, our brilliant plan to indulge in some delicious Polish cuisine was foiled by long lines and limited tables. The universe said, “Nah, you’re not getting your pierogi fix today.”

So, we took the kids to Benji’s NY Delicatessen in Tustin. The universe has a thing for pastrami sandwiches and matzo ball soup!  We sat in the lounge area because it was more relaxed and closer to the bar.

Fantastic food and quite diverse!

The food was terrific.  Mary had some soup, and I went for a pastrami, which I shared with Mary.  I don’t understand the science behind it, but those fries must have gone to fryology school and got a PhD in potato perfection!

My oh my, piled high!!

From Benji’s, we headed home as we had a Starlighters Dance this evening. It was a travel theme, but I only had enough energy to travel to Mexico, so we donned our costumes and headed to the Elks Lodge in Santa.

We sat at a table with three couples we had not met before and made sure they knew all about the club before they departed for the evening.  “All six of them were so excited about the upcoming November dance, they even started practicing their funky chicken dance moves in the this evening! It’s going to be a hilarious sight to see!

The theme was “Around The World.”

We boogied down so much that Mary begged me to rescue several single ladies from the sidelines and drag them onto the dance floor. They were probably regretting their decision to attend the party at that point!  Other gentlemen were available to dance with the ladies, so I only got to dance with Nita and Yolie.

Yolie and I tripped the light fantastic!

When it comes to the F-word, FOOD, the Elks went wild this evening. The prime rib was amazing, and I had Dover Sole, which was also outstanding.

The prime rib was excellent!  It was the size of a whole cow!

On the way home, we stopped by Aces for a drink and to listen to the Statler Brothers we put into the internet jukebox.

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Aw So!

Posted on Friday, September 20, 2024 by Paul

This morning, it was office work first! We had to validate our trip to New Hampshire, get the final names for those going to the Elks Costume Party on the 26th, and complete several other ” to-do ” items.

When we first moved into our office, it looked like a furniture store had thrown it up! Desks, chairs, and random stuff were everywhere. We had a cacophony of desks, some dating back to the Civil War.

We decided it was time to do it right, so we ordered two new desks and bookshelves —one of our better decisions! All the old stuff was donated to the Salvation Army!

My desk is on the left, and Mary’s is on the right. We placed two small file cabinets between the desks, and our two printers are on top of the file cabinets. We are set up to stay organized (not an easy task) and have a bed for Scout the Wonder Dog, our proofreader.

The desks face the backyard and are beneath the ten-foot-wide window, so we get lots of light!

We departed for Pasadena and the annual Mid-Autumn Moon Celebration!   We had to leave early because of the anticipated traffic (2:00 p.m.). Using three local freeways, it took us an hour and a half.

You can see all the picture on our website.

We decided to have dinner before the visit and found a Chinese restaurant in Old Towne Pasadena. Family-owned and operated for over 15 years, Grandview Palace has prided itself on serving our guests exceptional Chinese cuisine. The meal was standard American Chinese, but it was delicious. It was not exactly health food, but we will soon walk it off!

We had dinner at an interesting Chinese Restaurant!

We made it, and we were in line by 6:00 p.m.  We offered people to take their pictures, and most did an “OK” job. The lady who took the picture below knew her iPhone!  Nothing was cut off and nothing growing out of our heads!

BTW, many people commented on our matching shirts!

We walked for almost two hours.

As we started to walk over a small bridge, a man with a large bottle pusing a two-wheeled cart came by. We let him pass, and his job was to blow up the moon! Helium eventually leaks through almost anything, and the moon was slowly dropping into the lake.  We watched while he carefully sent a new supply of helium into the moon via a small diameter hose.

The helium moon was out and about.

We rambled around the lake and stopped under the waterfall!  Time for a quick picture.

Walking underwater

From our “vantage” point across the lake, we had a hilarious view of the famous Moon Bridge. It looked like something straight out of a cheesy romance movie, complete with a dramatic soundtrack playing in the background.

People enjoyed walking on the Moon Bridge.

Traditionally, floating paper lanterns symbolize the guiding of souls, those who have left the physical world and now exist spiritually. The orange dots by the Moon Bridge are all small floating lanterns with individual messages inside.

The Sun went down, and the lights came on.

There were four musical groups in the area, so their music was like a buffet of different flavors—it was like going from salsa to heavy metal to classical to reggae all at the same time! It was certainly an interesting musical journey, but let’s just say it’s a good thing they didn’t play for too long—my brain needed a break to process all that musical diversity!

We stumbled upon this tiny spot with a bench, plopped down, and soaked in the sweet melodies.

We sat and listened to the musicians.

By the end of the evening, the lanterns were all over the lake and they freely floated about the various bridges. We marveled at breathtaking lanterns reflected in the lake as we strolled through illuminated pavilions, courtyards, and pathways. Delicious-looking entrees and treats (all available for purchase) were available at Jade Court Cafe, Freshwater Pavilion, and the Terrace of Shared Delights. We, however, were stuffed from our early dinner so we avoided the lines.

Paper Wish Bags floated all over the lake.

By 9:00 pm, we were tired and ready to call it a night. This was definitely an “out of the box” experience for us/  On our way out, MAry wanted to hang with Mr. Lion. I swear, Mary can befriend anyone, even a stone lion!

Goodnight!

We headed home, and miraculously, there was no traffic. Fifty-two minutes flat. I felt like I was in a movie where the hero gets home just in time.  My superpower was finding the one moment in the day when there was no traffic!

 

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Busy Busy Busy!

Posted on Thursday, September 19, 2024 by Paul

We have a jam-packed day, starting with visiting the Huntington Beach hair parlor. Get ready to witness the magical transformation from beach bum to beach hunk!  Mary had her two-hour makeover, and I had 9 1/2 minutes, including shaking the apron. They had to catch the three hairs which were trimmed.

After getting our hair done, we flew VFR (Very Funny Ride) to the Elks and found Will, Iris, George, and our beloved waitress. We must have looked quite the sight, with our freshly coiffed hair and ready for some good times! Mary and I shared a Dover Sole, plus I splurged and had a hockey puck (hamburger patty plain)!

I also had a special they called “Mary’s Special”!

It was a mouthful!!  (Just kidding!)

At 1:15 pm, we departed the Elks and went to Dianne’s to be there when the locksmith was scheduled to show up.  The smithy replaced almost a dozen locks with new ones and a single key.

We stayed around for a while and then did another errand involving returning a noise-canceling headset to Best Buy from Bob Z.

David and Dianne were members of Amica (The Automatic Musical Instruments Collectors’ Association).  The Automatic Musical Instruments Collectors’ Association was formed in 1963 by a group of collectors in the San Francisco area. They were committed to preserving, restoring, and enjoying vintage mechanical musical instruments that play by themselves, focusing on those made from 1885–1935.  They have quite a selection of highly excellent devices, including an ancient Wurlitzer Organ.

One of the speakers at the funeral wanted to play the tune in the background, so I captured a three-minute video of David and Dianne’s 1920s Wurlitzer Organ machine in their home. We copied about three minutes of the “fantastic” audio!

They have several other units, and the one below has an animated person “playing the upright piano.”

If you like this music, several sites on the web have mp3 files. As an example, take a listen to the 1940s radio network!

The last leg of today’s journey was just a few miles to go home and visit Jeff.

On the way, we were stopped at a railroad crossing as the arms were down, and the express barreled down the tracks at 60+ miles per hour. I’ve never seen a train in such a rush to get somewhere! Maybe it had a hot date waiting at the next station.

Back home, we visited Jeff and saved the world at least three times.  When he and I were kids, we talked a lot about “vacant lots”!

At 8:00 pm, we crashed, watched TV for a few minutes, and sawed logs all night.

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Hump Day Has Arrivith!

Posted on Wednesday, September 18, 2024 by Paul

Oh no!  AT 8:15 am, we have to depart our humble abode and go to the dungeon and get severely punished; yes, folks, I mean “the gym.”  We arrived at the gum at 8:35 am, five minutes past our regular time, so we rode the bikes faster than usual.

Amazon had left us a package, so it was open, and I went to work, hanging the talking eyeball on the front porch.

MAry could NOT pass this up!

We talked to Dianne and plan to join her for some errands to prepare for Saturday’s funeral. I made two copies of the presentation on thumb drives, and we were off. We stopped the mortuary and made sure the video would play on the machine, and sure enough, it played perfectly.

It was lunchtime, so we went to Rutabegorz’s in Tustin. Back in 1978, this small “hippie joint” opened its doors to an unsuspecting town. Little did this city know what a trendsetter Rutabegorz restaurant would become.

The tree-lined street reminded us of days gone by!

Inside, the decorations were most interesting.  A collection of old coffee makers was on the top of the shelf to the left!  Bob and Donna come to the one in  Orange every Saturday morning and have for years.

In Old Town Tustin!

The menu was eclectic, and I ordered their MuShu Burrito.  It was snow peas, carrots, broccoli, brown rice, and almonds wrapped in a wheat tortilla and smothered in our wonderful Mu Shu sauce.

It was delicious; I downed every bite.

Dianne was with us, and we were all clowning around.

Mirror mirror on the wall!

Along with many vegetarian dishes, Ruta’s also serves white breast of chicken, turkey, albacore tuna, and assorted lean deli meats. Our salad dressings are fresh and house-made, and our condiments are low in fat. As usual, we use only the finest and freshest fruits and vegetables. Their mission has always been to provide the communities with a healthy alternative to traditional restaurant offerings without sacrificing taste.

After a small blackberry pie, we started home via Sprouts.

We then dropped off Dianne and headed home with our tunnies full to the gills!  We promptly took a long nap, and dinner was out of the question!

Mary diligently worked on her needlepoint as we watched some movies in the TV Room (aka the living room). I attempted to create a spooky ambiance with the outdoor lighting, complete with my very own dramatic lightning strikes! I must say, I think I scared myself more than anyone else!

Some of the lighting effects I was trying.

We watch several action movies with Chuck Norris before turning in at midnight!

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Nothing On The Calendar Day!

Posted on Tuesday, September 17, 2024 by Paul

Today, we were busy, but we were not doing anything.  It was an odd feeling.

Early morning, we did our zombie shuffle through the garden, which could have been more uneventful. We stumbled around like a couple of sleep-deprived ghouls, scaring the birds and startling the squirrels.

We then moved the Halloween packing boxes to the side of the house, which allowed us to move freely without stumbling over containers.

While I puttered on the computer, Mary did the hard work.  My mother taught me that you can never have enough paper goods stored away.  Mary took two cases of kitchen towels up the stairs and stacked them away in the closet.

While Mary was preparing to leave for the outside world, I   finished taking pictures of the decorations and uploaded them to our Halloween 2024 website. 

We have been busy!! (Click the image for the full-sized image)

It’s fun to walk through our home and see everything we have collected in the past 150 years (between us).  Amazingly, we have several Halloween decorations that are alike, such as the ghoul wine glasses.

I had the head witch do her mandatory inspection, and she gave me a passing spell with just a few minor hexes that needed fixing. I need to work on my potion-mixing skills!

Notice her conscience in the reflection!

We called Dianne and offered to assist with the collection and processing of pictures for David’s funeral this Saturday. We were both hungry, so we decided to go to our local NY deli. At Benji’s, we shared a Mexican omelet, and I added an onion bagel to the mix.

On our way to Dianne’s, we made a detour to Sprouts to load up on goodies for her. We also grabbed some groceries because who can resist the temptation of snacks? Thankfully, we’re always prepared with a thermal bag in the trunk to rescue any frozen treats in distress.

We landed at Dianne’s around 1:00 pm and delivered the goods.

There will be a slideshow featuring moments from David’s life at the funeral on Saturday, and we offered to assist. At Dianne’s, we were able to copy several files of PDFs, each of which contained 8-12 images. Of the six we brought home, three were “damaged,” so we had to go to another source.

We worked until around 10:00 pm and created an excellent 20-minute video for use at the Highway 39 center.

Highway 39 Events Center

It is a perfect venue for David’s funeral day to end.

Cars of all ages are everywhere!

The image and the presentation will be displayed (it is about 450 MB, so it might take a moment or two to load and play).

Click the image to see the 20-minute movie!

We finally hit the sack around 11:00 pm after some coordinating with Dianne. Dianne and I have officially achieved expert-level coordination skills, especially when deciding when to call it a night!

Tomorrow morning: the dreaded gym where we willingly subject ourselves to torture, only to reward ourselves with delicious bagels afterward. It’s all about balance, right?

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Monday Means Back To Work!

Posted on Monday, September 16, 2024 by Paul

We got off the pot and decorated for real!!

Yesterday, we stumbled upon five unopened containers of Halloween decorations, so after a brief trip to the dungeon (aka the local gym/workout facility), we started transforming our home into a haunted house. The only scary part was realizing we still had cobwebs from last year’s decorations!

Today was great in the dungeon, although I accidentally pulled a back muscle working in the garden Sunday. I was so sore that I couldn’t even attempt my usual routine. Anthony took me to his office area, got me up on a table, and worked on the left side for an hour. I felt like I had just completed an extreme workout without lifting a finger! It will take a few days for my muscles to regain shape, but at least now I have a great excuse to ask for extra help carrying groceries!

After a quick visit to the bagel store, where we replaced the calories we burnt off at the gym, we began emptying boxes and becoming amazed at the goodies we had put away last year,

The spiders are a new addition!

We loved the oldies but goodies.

It is incredible what a glue bottle will do when repairing the oldies!

Visit the house! 

We worked all afternoon, and finally, at 5:30 pm, we declared victory and went to Jeffs to pick up dinner.  Say what?  Yes, Jeff called and said, “Please come and help eat the goodies from the party; the frig is overloaded!”  We visited for a while and then returned home, where Mary had a wonderful dinner.

We watched “The Expendables,” which can be described in one word: seventeen gunshots and a quart of blood every three minutes. Since Mary and I are adults (well, she is for sure), we understood it was all stylized fiction. I am troubled by our youth, who can’t discern the difference between reality and fiction!

The Expendables is an American ensemble action thriller franchise conceived by David Callaham, spanning a film series, the first three co-written by Sylvester Stallone and additional media. The films star an ensemble cast, notably Stallone and Jason Statham, and are produced by Avi Lerner and Kevin King-Templeton. The film series, an acknowledgment of former blockbuster action films made in the 1980s and 1990s, also pays homage to action stars of former decades and the more recent stars in action. The series consists of the films The Expendables (2010), The Expendables 2 (2012), The Expendables 3 (2014), Expend4bles (2023), and an ongoing comic book series, The Expendables Go to Hell (2021). Though criticism about plot and dialogue between characters has been expressed, critics praised the use of comic relief in between actions.

After watching the movie, we were exhausted and headed to bed around 8:30 pm.  It was a long day!

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Dining With Friends!

Posted on Sunday, September 15, 2024 by Paul

We love our morning coffee!

We were up early, looked at each other, and were amazed that our calendar was not full of things to do!  We quickly walked through the garden and ate grapes directly off the vines.  These grapes are seedless and are pretty tasty.

There are more than 8,000 grape varieties from about 60 species. The main types are American and European. One cup of grapes, with about 100 calories, provides more than a quarter of the daily recommended values of vitamins K and C. Grape seeds, which are edible, are chock-full of antioxidants.

We mosied into the garden and discovered more grapes.

We were missing some Halloween pillow covers, which we needed to finish decorating. After looking in both attics, I finally looked inside a large Rubbermaid closet on the side of the house and hit paydirt—we found five containers of Halloween decorations that we had forgotten about.

This means we can finish decorating for the holiday on Monday!

Mary fixed a lovely brunch, and we sat and talked for an hour.  We did call Colleen since we haven’t spoken to her in a week because of our activities with Dianne.

At 1:00 p.m., we started getting ready for our visit to Irene’s new home. I think we had a housewarming dinner.

Bay Towers At Bixby Knolls

We drove up at the same time as Vicky and Jim and took the elevator to the 11th floor.

We popped open a bottle of champagne and made a toast! The apartment was lovely, and Irene was excited about all the activities. Her car has its own numbered space in the secure basement adjacent to the elevators!

We had some appetizers, and then the Greek food came out of the kitchen and filled the entire table!

We dined with Irene, Vicky, and Jim.

The lamb chops were to die for. We also had spanakopita, domales, and pita bread with three interesting dipping sauces.

Did I mention desserts? Vicky promptly grabbed the plate and demanded to know where our plates were. When it comes to desserts, all manners go out the window!

Mine, mine, mine,……., mine!

Have you heard of Signal Hill?

Did You Know? Signal Hill’s first owner of record was Manuel Nieto, who received the land in 1784 as a grant from King Carlos III of Spain. Nieto later divided the land into six cattle and horse ranchos, two of which encompassed Signal Hill: Rancho Los Alamitos and Rancho Los Cerritos. Later purchased by New Englanders, the ranchos were primarily used for grazing and agriculture in the 1800s. A harsh winter in 1862, drought, and other financial hardships resulted in the sale of the ranchos to the Bixby clan, who used the land to raise sheep.

By the turn of the 20th Century, stately mansions dotted the hilltop as the value of the panoramic view became evident. However, by 1917, the prospect of striking oil on the hilltop surpassed the value of the view, and the Union Oil Company drilled the first oil well in the area. The well failed to produce any oil, and it was abandoned.

Further exploration was suspended until the Royal Dutch Shell Oil Company resumed exploration and hit pay dirt on June 23, 1921. That first “gusher,” at Alamitos Well Number 1, marked a turning point in Signal Hill’s history and put the city on the map. Ultimately, it was one of the richest oil fields in the world, and it produced over 1 billion barrels of oil by 1984. The field is still active and produced over 1.6 million barrels of oil in 1994 alone.

Signal Hill, completely surrounded by the City of Long Beach, is located in unincorporated Los Angeles County. In 1924, to avoid Long Beach’s per-barrel oil tax, Signal Hill’s founding fathers voted for incorporation. Right from the beginning, Signal Hill proved to be a progressive city, electing Mrs. Jessie Nelson as the City’s first mayor.

Oil production continued to be Signal Hill’s mainstay until declining oil prices reduced output in the 1970s. In 1974, the Signal Hill Redevelopment Agency was formed, and the city focused on economic development and diversity from oil. Today, Signal Hill is a well-balanced, financially sound, and economically diverse community of over 11,400 people.

The 11th floor provides a fantastic view.

The view below is of downtown Long Beach, which has many high-rise buildings along the shore.

All of Long Beach is at our doorstep!

Did You Know? Long Beach is 50 square miles in area and is home to more than 460,000 people, making it the 7th largest city in the state of California. Long Beach was originally named “Wilmore City,” but because of its long, wide beaches it was renamed “Long Beach” in 1888.

The first homes and school were built by developer William Wilmore in the 1880s, who named the area Wilmore City. Soon after, the growing population voted to incorporate the city and rename it the City of Long Beach.

We stuffed ourselves, and the five of us laughed ourselves silly.

Just us!

As we finished the desserts, the Moon decided to come up and say hello!

The moon provided a Halloween-like image.

We said our goodbyes and departed for our 40-minute ride home.  Before going home, we decided to stop at Aces for a glass of wine. The bar is usually not busy on Sunday evenings, so we got to visit with friends and the bartenders.

We departed around 8:30 pm and headed to Aces.

The day was fantastic, and we were so happy to learn that Irene was in a safe place and was having a lot of fun with the others living there.

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Party Day After We Decorated!

Posted on Saturday, September 14, 2024 by Paul

Indeed, it gets the heart started!

We finally opened the decorations containers and began the process of welcoming Halloween.  While I was busy putting up the bunting outside, Mary was in the garden perfecting her green thumb. It’s like our house is participating in a beauty pageant while I’m struggling with string and bunting and Mary’s out there winning the garden Olympics!  We had several neighbors who were walking their dogs stop and comment on our home being so festive all year long.

We are keeping the garden looking good!

The last bunting goes up.  I am allowed to go on the first step only, after than Mary comes over and holds me so I don’t go falling down.

Up go the decorations!

Around 3:30 pm we went to Taco Mesa to pick up tonight’s meal at Jeff’s party.  We had enough food for a small army!

Taco Mesa, here we come!

Jeff (sitting), his daughter Pam, and an old friend start off the festivities.

Join the fun!

Jeff meets friends.

The ladies get all the food positioned and ready to go when everyone arrives.  Dawn works for Armstrong Entertainment and has served us well many times.

Our server, Dawn, was terrific.

We sat and talked all night between trips to the Taco Bar.

Great fun!

Food kept coming out of the kitchen all night long.

We kept Dawn running all night long!

While everyone was here, we celebrated a birthday!

Pam made a special cake for the event!

Finally around 9;00 pm we mosied on home which was about 350 feet away!  We looked at each other and headed to bed with our tunnies full.  It was a great party!

 

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Hello Friday!

Posted on Friday, September 13, 2024 by Paul

We promenaded through the backyard, which always results in us seeing something new! Indeed, we saw the latest crop of apples getting ready to fatten up so they can become pies!

Oh my, the second crop of apples is on the way!

In the back forty, the lime tree is giving it all it’s got, while the lemon tree, closer to the house, is still trying to find its zest for life!  All I see is nice cold Gimlets on this tree.

The classic Gimlet cocktail is a three-ingredient masterclass in simplicity and balance. Composed only of gin, lime juice, and sugar, it helped pave the way for countless cocktails, from the Margarita to the Daiquiri and the Sidecar.  Mary’s recipe does NOT use sugar; she is watching out for me!

Our lime tree is just in time to support my new drink!

As we rambled back toward the house, the eggplants said hello. They are getting ripe, so next week, we will make some serious eggplant casseroles.

Despite the word “eggplant” being synonymous with a deep purple color, some early cultivars were, in fact, white and egg-shaped. Eggplant is called aubergine in most of the rest of the English-speaking world. Eggplant is technically a fruit.

Peeling eggplant is not necessary. The skin starts chewy when the eggplant is raw but turns super-tender as it bakes on the sheet tray and then again in the casserole.

The eggplants are coming along nicely.

We have a secret recipe which we will be trying, and the results should look like this:

Yummy!!

We cleaned up, and I went to the barbershop to get the old rasty beard trimmed. I dropped off the ladies at the mortuary so they could do some last-minute negotiations with the staff. The mortuary owner, Alan Bisbee,  stopped by to say hello. He is an old friend from the Elks and a good gy!

We did chores around the house and got ready to pick Dianne up for a visit to Old Ranch.  It was Friday at 4:00, but the 22 Freeway going west was wide open!  We zipped along at 70 mph all the way there.    I was greeted by several of the staff members who were welcoming us back.  We generally go at noon for lunch but the other shift at night was on duty.

The veranda was the perfect spot; we had shade from the sun and a slight ocean breeze.

Dianne saw the appetizers, especially the shrimp, and we set out to empty the display. We got the best table in the house, sitting next to the fabled fire pit. Stories were told and retold over the years.

Dianne surveys the appetizers.

The music was pretty good, most of it danceable. When the line dance started, Dianne and Mary hit the road and never looked back—probably because their dance moves were causing traffic jams!

Charlotte got into the groove and gave us the Danish version of the Texas line dance.

Moving to the line dance.

Mary noticed only ladies were dancing, and without a second thought, Dianne and I hit the stones, showing everyone what an actual swing dance looks like.  We swirled and twirled around, and I noticed the guys looked a little jealous!  I had the moves, but I must admit that the two glasses of wine helped!

Dianne and I show people how it is done.

Meanwhile, back at the table, the girls were chattering away,

Hello ladies.

Charlotte was my best instructor ever. I was never a good golfer, average at best. She saved me lots of money, as the number of balls lost and clubs thrown into the thickets around the course drastically reduced after her hints.

Charlotte, my long time friends and occasional golf instructor, was an absolute delight.

Mary and I are like two peas in a pod, or maybe more like two clowns in a circus! Every minute we spend together is a non-stop comedy show. We laugh so much that the neighbors probably think we’ve hired a laugh track!

Just us.

We headed home around 9:00 p.m. and made a one-drink stop at Aces. We played Johnny Cash and the Statler Brothers and danced a couple of dances before going home.

Today was an excellent day!

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Sliding Into The Weekend!

Posted on Thursday, September 12, 2024 by Paul

Thursday morning, and all is well! Today, we will do nothing until noon, when we take the weekly trip to the Elks Lodge for Girls Night Out!

We went for a speed walk through the garden but then took a detour to do some serious trimming. As a bonus, we crowned the trash barrels because, let’s face it, they needed to feel special before trash pickup day! You know, we have to keep those barrels happy.

We noticed several melons that are about to come to fruition.  We had to look hard because they were almost invisible under their leaves.

The melons are finally ripening.

Meanwhile, back inside, Scout-A-Puss has assumed his favorite position: carefully blocking the hallway, thus keeping any wild elephants from going to the back of the house!

The baby sleeps a lot now.

After going to the bank, we departed for the Elks. Our table was empty! George was there, so we got to visit him; it’s always fun! Bob Z was held at work, Bill was taking care of Mary, Iris forgot it was Thursday, and the others were AWOL.

The Elks Lobby

We strutted back home and decided to take a “quick” two-hour nap to ensure we’d be the life of the party at the show tonight. We couldn’t resist a detour to Dianne’s on our way to the classy Muckenthaler.  Then we were off again, and it was like we had a magnetic pull towards food and entertainment!

Mary packed a magnificent picnic basket with sandwiches, fruit, cookies, stuffed celery, and two boggles of vino; yeah!  By the time we finished the basket, we were both full!

We are loving the performance (and being together).

The boys were outstanding this evening!  We laughed until we hurt!

Mary, Yolie, Vicky, and Jim joined us for the evening fun.!

Our dear friends.

After the show, we went to Aces, had a glass of wine, and visited the owner.  He appreciates us coming and making the jukebox play something other than garbage!

 

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