Octoberfest At The Elks

The three of us were up and had our coffee before Robin departed for home.   She will return tonight for round two of the weekend, Oktoberfest!

We worked in the yard for a bit, but spent the rest of the time inside just messing around the house.

We watched “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”.  Before their next heist, Harvey Logan (Ted Cassidy) and Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman) clash over leadership of their gang.  To settle their fierce power struggle, Harvey proposes a knife fight.  Which of these outlaws will claim victory?  Watch how the story unfolds in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969).

Robin arrived at 5:15 pm, and we dashed out the door, heading to The Silver Fox toward the Elks Lodge for Oktoberfest!

The first Oktoberfest in 1810 celebrated the marriage of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese, originally featuring horse races.  The name “Oktoberfest” is misleading, as most of the festival takes place in September to take advantage of warmer weather. 

She gets me into the strangest getups!

“O’zapft is!”The official opening cry, meaning “It’s tapped!” is declared by the Mayor of Munich after he taps the first beer keg of the festival. 

See additional pictures taken at the Elks.

Lookout, Germany, here we come!

Only beer brewed within the city limits of Munich by six specific breweries (Augustiner, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbräu, Löwenbräu, Paulaner, and Spaten) is allowed at the festival, ensuring an authentic Bavarian experience. 

When Mary comes in, surrounding colors disappear!

One of the crazy facts about Oktoberfest is the size of Hofbrau tent.  It is the largest Oktoberfest beer tent, which takes three months to build and two months to disassemble.  Stretching 279 feet long and towering 43 feet high, it can accommodate 10,000 guests, with dedicated seating inside and in the beer garden.  As a symbol of its grandeur, the entrance features a massive 10-foot, 2,205-pound crown.  Over the two weeks of the festival, people in this tent alone drink over 800,000 liters of beer, gobble up 70,000 chicken halves, 4,200 pork hocks, and 6,200 servings of pork sausage.

Sekfie time!

Though it may seem like a joke, it isn’t.  As a teenager in 1896, the 17-year-oldEinstein and his family’s electrical engineering firm helped install the lights in the Oktoberfest tents.  While he wasn’t personally stringing up bulbs, this was an interesting early brush with the technology that would later revolutionize the world.

We danced, duh!!

I even danced.

HELP!  That crazy woman is chasing me again!  I must remember to slow up so she can catch me!

Oktoberfest’s largest group of visitors is from Italy.  This might seem surprising for a nation known for its love of wine, but Oktoberfest’s appeal transcends borders.  During the second weekend, the festival celebrates its “Italian weekend,” with newspapers printed in Italian and German, traffic reports switching languages, and a surge of designer sunglasses appearing in the lost and found.

Around and around we go!

Every year, the Oktoberfest Lost and Found transforms into a fascinating museum of forgotten items.  These misplaced treasures offer a glimpse into the festival’s lively chaos.  Last year alone, the collection included a staggering number of everyday essentials, including 1,300 passports, 640 wallets, 580 Oktoberfest outfit items, 520 ID cards, 400 smartphones, 310 pairs of glasses, 120 bags, 40 umbrellas, 200 keys, and 60 pieces of jewelry.  Around 800 items of lost property were handed over during the Wiesn.

When we got home, we visited Jeff, and I took a spill on his front porch.   Nothing serious, but I will feel it in the morning, I am sure.

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Friday Was A Good Day!

We had one more morning in the garden and cut just enough to fill up two 90-gallon trash cans with trimmings.  Around 11 am, we started getting cleaned up, as we had a 1:30 pm doctor’s appointment with the vascular specialist.  The good news is that all is going well.  We have to return in about 30 days to get a blood flow assessment.  The bad news is that the nerve damage from the retraction procedure won’t heal for about 18 months!

We stopped by the vet and brought our baby home.  He now rests in a place of honor on our mantel with his best pal, Moosy!

We were both down in the dumps, but decided a quick stop at the Orange Elks might be good.  We missed lunchtime, so we had a glass of vino before going home.

Just what the doctor ordered!

After getting home and placing Scout in a place of honor, we watched TV, awaiting the arrival of our daughter, Robin!  She came from work and was going to stay overnight; we called it a movie night.   At 5:15 pm, Robin arrived, and we went VFR to Yang Ming, just a mile from our house.

Robin did the shrimp, and Mary went for the Moo Goo Gai Pan.  Moo Goo Gai Pan is a classic Chinese-American stir-fry dish featuring sliced chicken and mushrooms in a light, savory white sauce.  Its name comes from the Cantonese words for “button mushrooms” (moo goo), “chicken” (gai), and “slices” (pan).

I went for the paper-wrapped chicken, cream cheese wontons, and a portion of vegetable fried rice.

Our tunnies were full.

We enjoyed a delicious Chinese meal!

We made it back home, changed into our jammies, and the three of us watched Robert Redford in “The Sting”.

RIP Paul Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008), aged 83 RIP

RIP Robert Redford (August 18, 1936 – September 16, 2025), aged 89

We enjoyed this movie classic!

We all crashed around 10:30 pm!

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Another Day… Another Dinner!

In the morning, we went out and trimmed about 1/10th of the summer garden, leaving the remains on the walkway for Carlos to remove tomorrow.    After the heart ablation operation, I was amazed at how much energy I had.  We worked for two hours, and I was not out of breath the entire time!

At 10:00 am, we headed to the house to get ready for our weekly luncheon at the ledge with the gang.  Today, we had the gang, including Iris & Will, Bill Capps, and his brother-in-law, Danny.  We also had the Ashs, Sue, George, and Bob Zaitz!  It was a full house!

Girls’ Night Out at the Elks

After the luncheon, we went home to prepare for another meal.  So much for my desire to go below 190 pounds!

When we visited the Farmhouse and Roger’s Gardens last week, we found out about a joint Farmhouse/Verde event, and of course, we instantly got tickets for four.   Verde is in Costa Mesa.

Located on Irvine Blvd near the beach!

We knew we were in for a delightful meal when the first of the five courses came out!  Bruschetta without the bread AND the tomatoes were fresh!

Dinner at Verde/Farmhouse in Costa Mesa

Anthony popped by for a quick visit.  Anthony had two “Becky’s Good Hair Day” drinks in his hand.  The drink was named after Becky, Mary’s daughter.

Anthony was happy to see us.

Goodness, what an adventure.  The corn was cut into quarters lengthwise and grilled to perfection!  The cabbage was so sweet we could have stopped right there and declared success!

The food was fantastic!

Someone really liked the corn!

Bill liked the corn.

We could not wait for the next fish to be served, and each course was another adventure in dining.

I thought to myself, “I’m on a 30-day diet.  So far, I’ve lost 15 days.”

We had a great time.

Sandee and Bill had a good time.  One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.

All had a wonderful evening!

I suddenly remembered Rodney Dangerfield’s thoughts about his wife’s cooking!   I am so happy that Mary is a gourmet chef!

Mary lights up my life!

Mary makes the surrounding colors go bland!

We all went home with full tummies and fond memories.

 

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Off And Running!

It was a relaxing day!

Examining our schedule revealed we had a busy day again, beginning with our hair appointments at 10:00 am in Huntington Beach.  We were driving the doodlebug today as the Silver Fox was in the repair shop getting a beauty treatment.   I knew the “long way” to the appointment, but the fast route, which I had programmed into the Silver Fox’s GPS, and I arrived four minutes late.

Mary said she had an upset tummy, probably from thinking about Scout, so I went to the market adjacent to the parlor and retrieved some bananas to help.  We had our lattees, and the hair game was on.

Mary is being pampered!

We called Bob Z, who just returned from a month in Europe, and he was going to the Elks for lunch, so we redirected the car toward Santa Ana and enjoyed a delightful lunch with him.

Bob told us, “My favourite childhood memory is my parents paying for my holidays.” We understood that quite well.

After lunch, we headed to Tustin Lexus, where we got our brand new car.  After $2900, it should be brand new.  The Silver Fox apparently also went to the hairdresser because he had new tires, an alignment, and a shampoo!   When I drove out, bubbles were coming out of the air conditioning openings!  I thought I was in a bubble bath.  The vehicle smelled like a French House of Ill Repute!

The Silver Fox went directly into the garage because the rain was threatening.  Domi and crew came at 3:00 pm, and the loss of our baby saddened them.  I think Domi was in tears as Scout used to follow her around the house for two hours straight, getting lots of treats and scratching.  Scout was a ladies’ man!

To stay out of their way, we visited Jeff for a while, bringing him some fresh banana-nut muffins, still warm!  After Domi leaves the house, she goes to Jeff’s!

We then decided to go to the UPS store and return the Halloween moving broom.  We bought two, and neither of them works, so they go back.

Ka-Putt!

We realized we still had time, so we drove over to Ace’s Bar and Grill, played country music on the jukebox, and had a light meal.  Of course, Mary ordered their excellent salad while I had stuffed jalapeño peppers.

I am at 192 pounds, and my goal of 190 pounds is within grabbing distance.

Returning home, we headed for the TV room and watched Jeremiah Johnson with Robert Redford.

Based upon a real-life trapper named John Johnston, nicknamed “Crow Killer” and “Liver Eater Johnston” for his penchant for cutting out and eating the livers of Crow Indians he had killed (several Crows had murdered his wife, and he swore vengeance against the entire tribe).

Trapper John Johnston’s body was buried in the Veterans Administration cemetery in Los Angeles, CA.  After the movie came out, Johnston’s body was reburied at Old Trail Town in Cody, WY.  Robert Redford was a pallbearer in the reburial ceremony attended by 2,000 people.

We crashed at 9:30 pm after a full day of dunning around.

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We Kept Busy!

After the loss of Scout, we wanted to keep busy!  So we did!  First, we dropped off my car for its 60,000-mile checkup.  We thought we needed a change of spark plugs, which would have been about $600, but the service representative said the car is good for 120,000 miles before a plug change is needed.  We won!  Beat a $600 bill.  We can afford breakfast!

We departed the facility and headed for breakfast at Rockwell’s, our local restaurant.   While there, I got a video of the various inspections that were done on our car.  Alas, the car did need tires.  You can’t win… Instead of saving $600, we now have to spend $ 1,000.  That’s OK, I carry precious cargo!

From Rockwell’s, we went to Trader Joe’s and stocked up on the necessities of life!  After putting things away, I drove Mary to her last watercolor class of this session.

S-h-h-h-h-h Artist at work!

So true, and we, as taxpayers, seem unable to stop it!  Some politicians are getting rich!

We went to the Silver Trumpet and had company!  Mr. Squirrel kept trying to sneak in.  It was entertaining.

He wanted in for some good food!

Mar did her regular, lamb lollipops, and a salad.

Mary did her salad thing!

I went for the diver scallops on polenta, and they were terrific.

I opted for the seafood special.

I did a baddie!  I went for dessert.

Key lime pie, amazing!

The weather was perfect!

We walked to the theater.

The theater welcomed us!

It was a warm 80-degree evening.

The show started, and it was supposed to be whimsical and enjoyable!

We had high hopes for this play!

We almost walked out before halftime.  What a horrible performance.  The main characters were obviously gay, men kissing men, and the “music” was worse yet.  I fell asleep since I could not understand most of the “dialogue”.   I am never going to another performance that I do not know again.

What was worse, some of the audience cheered and clapped.  I managed a fart on the way out, and that was more than it was worth.

We drove home dejected, as we needed something redeeming and memorable.  This performance was at the bottom of the list of the performances that Seagerstrom has managed to put on!

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A Very Sad Day Indeed

This morning was very different.  We have been close to Scout for several days, seeing him slowly fail.  This morning, he was huddled up near the fireplace, and for the third day, he could not walk.  As usual, he was a happy boy, but there was something different in his eyes.  He did not understand why he could no longer walk.

He watched everything going on around him, but could not even get up to greet his friends.

Scout was fifty pounds of love in one nig hairy package!  We called our handyman, Tom, and asked him to help get Scout to the van so we could go to the vet.

At 10:00 am, Tom arrived, and without a whimper, Scout recognized him and went into his arms for the journey to the van.

We went to the vet, and after a lengthy discussion about options, the doctor agreed with our decision to let go.  He was too good a baby to live deaf, partially blind, confused, and unable to walk.

He was taken into the back where a chetar was inserted into his arm, and then he came back out with us for his last visit.

Scout was well known and everybody loved him at first sight

We talked to him for quite a while and brought “Moosey” to be with him.  Mary got Moosey the day Scout came from the adoption agency.  He carried Moosey around for over ten years, never hurting him, and now Moosey sits on our fireplace mantle looking out into the room for his friend.

The last goodbye!

He was happy until the end.  He was such a dear friend and loving creature.

Scout passed over the Rainbow Bridge.

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.  There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water, and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor.  Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.

The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance.  His bright eyes are intent.  His eager body quivers.

Suddenly, he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.  You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again.

The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together….

Author unknown…

The rest of the day was somber.  We had lunch at home courtesy of Dianne, who came to console us with burgers and fries.  We then went to the doctor and finally to the American Legion for a glass of wine.

Returning home to an empty house was difficult after our own official greeter was not there to wiggle his tail and say hello and “Where were you?”.

We visited Jeff for a bit, tried to watch a movie, and gave up, going to bed at 9:00 p.m., hoping the sadness would ease.

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Get ‘Er Fixed!

Our son, Joe, came over this morning to breathe new life into the overhead bathroom exhaust fan and heater since I no longer do ladders!   I went to YouTube and have the video on how to replace the part.

It was easy to replace!

 

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The Holiday Season Has Begun!!

We went to Roger’s Gardens!

Halloween is only six weeks and a trip to the Caribbean away, so we thought we would start early when the selections are best!

Robin stayed overnight last night and decided to go to Roger’s Gardens to start the holiday season, perhaps a wee bit early?

See all the pictures here!

This year, it was “The Midnight Market.”

We arrived about 30 minutes after Rogers opened and were surprised that it was not crowded.  As soon as I got there, I was looking for my necks victim.

Have you ever been kissed by a vampire? It’s a pain in the neck!

The Wal-Mart Greeter was at Roger’s this morning.

The bench was wet, but since I had on jeans, I dried my spot with the old tush!

I had a thought,  “Ghosts are terrible liars. You can see right through them.”

After a good walk in the nursery, we had lunch at The Farmhouse.  Their food is quite eclectic.  We killed off a boggle of chardonnary before departing for home via the 73 and 55 freeways.

Did you hear about the pumpkin that nearly drowned? It was saved by the life-gourd.

Upon returning home, Robin left for Corona, and we spent the rest of the day binge-watching movies.  My femoral artery may be bleeding just a bit, so I needed to stay off my feet.

We crashed around 10:15 pm.

Mary went out for a quick spin on her new broom!

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To The Movies!

The day started COLD as the overhead bathroom heater went south.  I called our handyman, and he came over, got the cover off, and gave me the part number.  I dialed into Amazon, and the replacement part will arrive on Thursday.  Then I will call Joe, or my son, to work his magic. I am not allowed to be on ladders anymore because of my age.

DOA

We messed around most of the day.  Maria came over and dropped off Irene’s gold clubs, and we visited for a while.  Robin stopped by before her hair appointment.  We will pick her up at 3:15 to go to the movies, the Downton Abbey movie, here we come.

Great movie, and now we are in the 1930s

We decided to go to King’s Fish House for dinner and had a wonderful dinner, complete with a bottle of wine!

Paul did fish soup

Robin kept to her diet and ate shrimp!

Everything was wonderful!

Robin captured a picture of us!

We were so happy to be out and about!

By the time we got home, it was 9:00 pm, and we crashed HARD!  Tomorrow, we begin to celebrate Halloween!

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I Escaped The House Today!

We got up, and Mary did the morning groin check, and I was leaking every so slightly on the right side.  It was not significant enough to worry about, so we proceeded with the morning shower and a new gauze covering.

We walked to the garden as I wanted to see the pumpkin plant and talk to it.

Picking time; we loaded a large box with fresh veggies

The garden is beginning to show wear, summer is starting to end, and Fall will be here soon.

We still have 500 tomatoes on the vines!

The overhangs need some trimming, or we will have to lean over to get to the back of the garden!

We found some hidden treasures up in the overheads!  There were several LARGE tomatoes in hiding.

Off to the Elks Lodge for Girls’ Night Out.  We had great fun and gave away a big bunch of veggies!

Bill and Sue joined us today!

Linda was here with her bonnet of the day!

Lookin’ good, Linda!

George was in rare form; we laughed the whole time!

We are getting old; we shared our latest operations.

I ordered a steak, but was surprised!

Mary and I were asked on several occasions if we would get a room!  I wonder why??

THE SMOOOOOOCH!

Guess what she whispered in my ear?    Time to go home!

I cannot wait for the packages to arrive!

Mary’s new T-shirts

We got the pictures from Bob and Donna from their trip to Turnin.

We watched three episodes of “Virgin River” before retiring.

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