Babysitting At 80? Oh My!

Posted on Wednesday, June 12, 2024 by Paul

Today we have n adventure ahead of us, we are going to Bonnie’s house in Camarillo and watch the varmints while she gets a chance to visit her mother in Tennessee.   Now that Becky (Bonnie’s Mom) lives in Tennessee instead of Michigan, Beck got her teeth fixed so she would match her neighbors! (Oh boy, I will pay for that one!)

Becky fits right in!

We were up at 5:30 am to pack but since it is only two nights, Mary’s limited herself to four suitcases and one single steamer trunk!  I was allowed one Von’s plastic shopping bag.

Our first stop was the gym for our morning workout.  As you can see below, the old man is doing well even after one humdred stretch/pull/sit ups.  I was afraid the elastic in my britches was going to overheat but I managed without a wardrobe malfunction.

Looking pretty good after 100 repetitions!

Camera lifts are my favorite exercise as it requires precise positioning as well has eye/hand coordination.  Mary is in the background doing leg presses.   After three weeks she can do three presses without having to stop and beg for mercy!

We do everything together!

I am NOT sure what this exercise is called but I think it has something to do with “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”.  Dang, she is looking pretty good!

You go girl.

The minute we lost 200 calories, we jumped in the Silver Fox and drove across the parking lot to the donut store and ordered replacement calories in the form of bagels and lattes.

We exercise and then we eat bagels!

When I finished, we gathered up the remains and went to the car because we had a 90 miles drive.  Mary finished off her “Energy Bar” in the car and we finished the lattees and we drove north.

We decided at the last minute to go with GPS so we ended up going through downtown LA and except for the area around Dodger Stadium, the traffic was not bad.

We arrived about 50 minutes early so we drove past their home to the nearest Mexican restaurant and had a taco before facing the kids.  The restaurant, Taqueria El Tapatio,  was amazing and the staff was out of this world friendly.

We arrived ten minutes before 1:00 pm and met with the young lady who was watching the kids.  Tatum just graduated high school and was on her way to Pepperdine University.  She was very nice and we will see her on Friday morning.

The kids were happy to see us and we all visited the ranch.  The seventeen chickens were individually named and we also met the kitties and the dogs.

We visited the chickens at Bonnie’s place.

The kitties were funny and I teased the kids about the kitties names calling the cats Festus (River), Mergatroid (Tiger), Brutus (Smokey), and Periwinkle (Kumquat).  Where those names came from I do not know but the kids thought it was funny…we all laughed!

Another week or so and the mouse traps can be set loose on the property.

Around 5:30 pm Mary whipped up a great meal of chicken breasts (not from the seventeen chicjens we just visited), steamed broccoli, and noodles with marinara sauce.  We all finished everything and the kids enjoyed the dinner.

Dinner time, it was a controlled zoo!

After dinner we had popsicles and the kids ran around in circles playing games involving coyotes and chickens.  We all laughed ourselves silly.  We attempted to get the chickens inside their coops but one of the kids spilled their chicken feed on the grass outside the coops and all wa lost.

We went inside and played a Children’s Bible Trivia game.  We all did pretty well as I read the questions and added a few things here and there!

Finally it was 7:oo pm we send the kids to bed but we gave Gunner and Amelia orders to take a bath.  Mary and Amelia joined forces and Gunner and I put rings around the bath tub.

Everyone was in bed by 8:15 pm.  We stayed up and checked on the kids until 10:00 pm when we hit the sack.

We are awaiting the sound of the rooster in the morning.

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No Gardening Today! Yeah!

Posted on Tuesday, June 11, 2024 by Paul

After all the ‘haircuts’ in the past four days, we’re finally starting to spot those elusive big tomatoes! Mr. Stripey is showing off now. It will be just two more weeks, and he’ll be strutting his stuff like a top tomato model.

“You found our hiding place!”

It was a weird sight today—the spaghetti squash was playing hard to get and ended up getting stuck in a support structure! After a bit of tugging and pulling, we freed the stubborn squash and let it return to its true calling as a vegetable instead of a contortionist.

Saved by the bell!

After the walk, we cleaned up and dressed and headed to my pulmonologist, who examined me and told Mary how sorry he was that she had to tow around an old buzzard like me.   She told the doctor, “When I am asked, I say I do charity work for the ugly and elderly!”  My self-esteem took a slight beating, but I’m still fabulous no matter what the doctors say!

He gave me some pills to try to break up the morning congestion, but otherwise, I got a clean bill of health.

I suggested Indian lunch, but while driving to the Indian tandoori place, we passed near the Orange Elks Lodge!  We both remembered their advertisement for their famous turkey sandwich with a glass of vino; that sounded great!

We stopped and went to the third floor, where the bar was as busy as a beehive on a summer day. I joined the lodge as an associate so we could get their newspapers. I may have accidentally volunteered Dr. Mary for the Squirrel Enthusiasts’ Association.

Lunch at the Orange Elks.

The meal was excellent. We had sandwiches, each with a side of fries. Mary had a side salad, so I ate half of her club sandwich.

Yummy Yummy

During our visit, we received a text from Bob Z. in a state of urgency. His late brother left behind a collection of German beer steins, and Bob, in a stroke of genius, thought of Mary because of her fluency in German. He asked her to help translate the messages on the beer steins. Who knew beer steins could be so entertaining?

One Stein was in memory of the person’s third enlistment into the German army and had a list of officers, NCOs, and enlisted men in the unit, plus some descriptions of their activities.  The unit was a military engineering unit, like the SeeBees.

Bob’s place was only three miles from the Lodge, so we popped over there, and Mary went to work!

Helping Bob translate

We searched the Internet for this coat of arms and found it on eBay—thanks to Google!

I’m looking for this image on the internet.

Mary is almost done translating.

Go it!

We headed home, walked the garden (without lifting a single shovel), and returned to the house for a few minutes.  Then, we watched “The Good Doctor,” a super medical series.

We stayed away!

We called neighbor Jeff and visited him for a while before returning home and hitting the sack!

Tomorrow, we are attempting to work out at the gym, which is basically a warm-up for the intense babysitting marathon ahead. Bonnie decided to visit her mother, Becky, in Tennessee. We were the only viable escape plan. Somehow, we got selected for heroic guard duty. It will be a wild adventure filled with laughs, tears, and possibly a few emergency phone calls to Bonnie!

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One Last Day In The Garden!

Posted on Monday, June 10, 2024 by Paul

It’s not quite 1950s music, but it certainly captures the essence of the last few days. We’ve spent 6-8 hours a day tending to our various gardens, and one entire day was dedicated solely to the front yard.

I always dread gearing up for the gym, especially when squeezing my iPhone, car keys, and wallet into my ninja outfit’s tiny, shallow pockets. It’s like trying to solve a puzzle while wearing spandex. It’s a workout just trying to fit everything in there!

The workout session went about as well as a cat wearing socks. I mean, they had to use a gag on me to stop my screams of pain. It was like a scene from a comedy movie, but we survived and managed to crawl to the car.

Since we were practically neighbors with Home Depot, we swung by there first! We needed to restock on flowers and veggies because a sneaky rabbit had a feast in our garden last night. I can’t blame the little guy for having good taste, but he’s not getting seconds!

The Silver Fox continues to be treated like a pickup truck.

Mary fixed a great breakfast consisting of tamales, hard-boiled eggs, fried tomatoes, a beautiful mushroom, and some slices from the Chinese radishes.  Everything was on a fresh bed of Swiss chard.

Breakfast of champions!

We started the yard at noon. The first item on the agenda was to remove the sweet peas and save the tomato that was entwined inside. After trimming this monster, we officially ran out of trashcan room.

Before

With surgical precision, we were able to clean out the sweet peas and, at the same time, save the tomato by putting its branches on the trellis.   Probably 50 Roma tomatoes on the plant were invisible before the surgery.

Roma tomatoes develop few seeds and dense flesh, making them perfect for a food processor. With a low water content, Romas are ideal for spreads, ketchup, and sauces. These tangy tomatoes are just as great served fresh on bread and in salads. We like them sliced in half and broiled/fried with Chef Mary’s magic herb mixture.

After, gone but not forgotten.

Did You Know” The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Nahuatl word tomatl gave rise to the Spanish word tomate, which derives from the English word tomato.

Now we get serious. While contorting into obscene shapes at the gym, I remembered I bought wire fencing for the garden two years ago. It was stashed behind the garden cabinets at the back of the lot.

Finally, it comes out of its container and goes to work after two years!

Well, with the help of my heavy-duty fencing pliers, I now have bunny-proof cages!  I made them so they could be taken apart at the end of the season and stored neatly.  They ought to last for years.

We made five cages to protect our little veggies and keep the rabbits away!

Mary went all green thumb and planted about ten veggies, then headed to the patio for more gardening shenanigans. I thought I was a pro with Miracle-Grow, but when I tried to shut off the water, the knob wouldn’t cooperate! That cheap Chinese hose bib strikes again – the third time’s not a charm!

So, I went to Home Depot, and the car was on automatic. I swear, that car is so independent that it even knows where to buy its own replacement parts!

The hose bib was replaced, and everything is now well!

At 6:00 p.m., we were shot! We somehow managed to get to the hot tub and soaked for an hour. We called Robin and talked to her for a while during that soak. We did not do dinner as it was too much work!

This was day four of gardening, about eight hours a day. I thought we were retired, not hired as full-time gardeners!

Lights out, we are done!

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Never On Sunday!

Posted on Sunday, June 9, 2024 by Paul

Another day in the garden.

“No, no, I screamed, please, not a walk in the garden!” My dramatic pleas were ignored entirely. Alas, another walk in the garden (translation: build a list of all the things that must be accomplished today)! Such is the life of a reluctant gardener.)

It’s not so much reluctance as the fact that my body is not forty years old anymore. My sores have even started complaining about having sores of their own.

After the ten-minute walk, we decided the last of the sweet peas must go, and we had to replace two plants because that damned rabbit ate our brand-new zucchini and cantaloupe.

Help Daddy Paul and Moma Mary save us from the Wascally Wabbit.

Amazon to the rescue. Animals instinctively avoid certain smells and tastes. Urine from mammal predators, meat protein, egg solids, and garlic all possess sulfur-containing compounds that trigger prey-response behaviors. Putrescent egg solids and garlic, both ingredients in Liquid Fence Deer & Rabbit Repellents, are highly effective in deterring these animals before they even browse treated vegetation.

Let me jot this down for you: “If this doesn’t work, I’ll sleep in the shed with my trusty Red Rider Single Shot BB Gun! It’s my secret weapon for dealing with stubborn problems.”

Please work; the Shed is cold!

We worked from 11:00 am until 6:00 pm in the garden and yard.  We planted, trimmed, mulched, abbreviated, clipped, cropped, edged, margined, mowed, nipped, overwhelmed,  scattered, and shortened everything in the garden and yard.

The sweet peas had to go.  They were pooping out, plus powdery mildew was getting the best of the greenery.

The back forty sweet peas are gone, filling almost a 90-gallon container.

Tomatoes grow, and they tend to lose their bottom leaves, which turn yellow and invite pests to have a meal. Mary and I meticulously went through each tomato plant and removed the Bad branches, so everything is now green again! Bye-bye bugs!

We spend several hours cleaning out the tomatoes.

We had a small breakfast and then returned to the yard, removing the sweet peas to see how much room there was underneath the brush. OMG, we found two more large Mexican zucchinis that were invisible from the top!

We did a super-secret spy mission to Home Depot. We successfully acquired the top-secret hoses needed to connect the super-powered rotary garden and Ophelia (who may or may not be a very sophisticated robot) to the top-secret timer on the side of the house. Mission accomplished!

Home Depot, our favorite store, is less than three miles away!

It should be mentioned that on the way home, I whispered “burrito,” and as the sound gently floated over Mary’s side of the car, she suggested Del Taco. Well, the Silver Fox slowed to a crawl, activated its own GPS, and took us to this amazing restaurant. One burrito and three Del Tacos later, we arrived back at our passion and devoured the goodies. Now we are ready for work!

Mary worked on the patio proper while I put on my plumber’s hat and hosed up the vertical and Ophelia.

The verticals are not on a timer, and Ophelia (our rubber plant) also gets watered once a day.

We had some blight on the gardenias, so we cut them back severely and sprayed them; they are hearty!

While there, we found an apple on the ground and ate it; it was crispy and gave us an idea of what the rest would taste like in a few weeks.

We ate our first apple today, just like Adam and Eve. The snake was asleep on the patio.

We planted some new goodies, including a brand-new cantaloupe.  While in the spa a little later, we spotted the (&^%$^^&)# rabbit hopping along without a care in the world and me in the spa without my trusty BB gun!

Look at what that rabbit did WHILE we were in the yard.  NOTE: We had not put the Liquid Fence here yet; it was a chore left to post-spa activities.

Look at that; it was a healthy cantaloupe!

We are so happy the rabbit abstains from alcohol because the grapes are just a few feet away.

I must get the vat so Mary can squash the grapes while singing Italian songs.

The rabbit seems to have beef with beets.  They do not go near each other!

Oh dear, they were hidden! Borscht is on the menu soon!

Tomorrow, you are going bye-bye! The flowers are pretty, but you need a ladder to get them, and the bottom is pretty ugly!

The flowers are OK, but powdery mildew is on the lower extremities.

“One more “before” shot – it’s like a vegetable jungle here! We discovered a tomato plant trying to blend in with the sweet peas, so we’re in for some plant surgery. I’ve scheduled an appointment with Dr. Mary to perform a sweet pea ectomy, with strict orders to spare the trapped tomato. This should be quite a garden drama!”

The before view.

We went back to the patio, and both of us trimmed it. We decided to move the water feature outside for this summer and did so. While Mary prepared a glass of wine, I used the trusty hose to apply Miracle-Grow to the patio flowers.

It was past 6:00 pm when we finally sat down and gave ourselves a rest.

Pur water feature now lives on the patio.

Spa time – hooray! With plastic wine glasses in hand, we gracefully slithered toward the bubbling hot tub, dreaming of the miraculous healing powers we desperately needed. My body crackled and popped like a bowl of Rice Krispies as I inched my way forward. And just when I thought things couldn’t get any more dramatic, I spotted a ladder. Watch out, world, here we come!

We barely made it into bed, and by 8:00 pm, we were sawing logs!

 

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Work Work Work Work! I Thought We Were Retired!

Posted on Saturday, June 8, 2024 by Paul

OMG, the day started without us!  How can this be?

We were up early and examined the outside temperature. Since it was under 70 degrees, we huddled by the fire. After it got above 70 degrees, we went to Home Depot and went to work!

But first, we need a quick survey of the garden in case we need something else at Home Depot.

Hollyhocks are easy to grow. They grow best in a location with full sun and well-drained soil. Given their tall size and tendency to flop, they also benefit from having protection from the wind. If planted in a location exposed to wind, they may need staking to prevent damage.  You notice they are against the wall for wind protection.

Did You Know? Hollyhocks symbolize fertility, ambition, and spirituality. The plant’s seed boxes can contain seeds that are different colors from the parent plant, which is another reason for its association with fertility. Hollyhocks are also believed to bring good fortune and protection and to ward off evil spirits.

Last years Hollyhocks are doing great!

The red maple tree is living its best leaf. We’re jealous of those red leaves – they really know how to stand out in a crowd.

Did You Know? Only some people know that red maple foliage can also turn yellow or orange in the fall. Red maples are fast-growing trees that usually reach 60 to 90 feet (18 to 27 meters) in height. The largest ones can grow over 120 feet (36.5 meters) tall. Red maples are native to the eastern deciduous forest.

Every year, the tree grows another 10-14 inches!

The other tree, a Chinese Maple, will turn red when winter arrives!  Keep on growing, big guy! Next year, it’s ornament time and your very own Christmas tree light show. Just don’t outshine the rest of us!

After summer, the leaves drop, and the entire tree turns bright red!

Inside the fence, we fertilized the planters and examined their health.  Everything is A-OK!

We did some slight trimming and oiled the whirligigs in each of the three major pots.

While checking out the front yard, we spotted some compelling evidence of tiny birdies using the picket fence as their personal bombing range. The fence looked like a war zone! Luckily, it was hidden from street view, but any passersby with a keen eye for avian mischief would definitely get a good chuckle out of it.

That means a trip to Home Depot for some serious bird-problem hardware. Mary and I jumped in the Silver Fox and went shopping.

We got three 35″ pieces of steel rod 3/16th in diameter, a length of 22-gauge steel wire, and a turnbuckle—just another casual shopping trip. Oh, and as a bonus, we also had to pick up some additional cantaloupes and some flowers – because you never know when you might need those elusive flowers!

The Silver Fox is used more for a pickup truck than a passenger vehicle.

We stumbled home just before lunch and decided it was time to get down to business. Mary whipped up a legendary turkey sandwich to fuel our endeavors, while I hauled our stuff from the car. It took two trips using Mary’s garden cart, one to the front yard and one to the back. I swear, moving all that stuff was more workout than I’ve had in months!

Thirty minutes after noon, we hit the yard like a buzzsaw!

As you can see, I stretched a thin wire (not visible from the street and hardly visible from the sidewalk) about three inches about the pickets and tightened it using the turnbuckle.   When the evil birdies try to land in the fence, they will undoubtedly pass it by, and the wire will block their runway!!

I only put it on the right side and plan to wait a week and see if it works before doing the other side.

The wire is tuned to F# over middle C.

It was hot and Mary needed to be covered so we put up our brand new 10’x10′ awning.  We bought it two years ago and never used it until today!

The shade and slight breeze made it easy to work in the yard.

After the fencing, I did my best impression of a superhero and took the left-hand side of the front yard while Mary went for the right-hand side. We tackled those pesky weeds, planted like we were auditioning for “Gardening with the Stars,” and trimmed our way to filling a 90-gallon trash barrel!

At 5:30 pm, we tapped out and retreated inside, feeling like we had been in an epic battle with nature for five solid hours. While Mary whipped up a mini-appetizer for dinner and poured us a glass of wine, I channeled my inner plant whisperer and doused the entire front yard with Miracle-Grow. It’s safe to say the yard and I are now best buds.

There was not a joint in our bodies that didn’t hurt. We headed for the swim spa and did two cycles before leaving at 7:00 p.m. We headed for the rack and turned on the big TV in the bedroom. We attempted to watch Die Easy (one of our favorites), but I think by 7:30 p.m., we were catatonic.

Good night and birdies and rabbits will be gone!

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Friday Has Arrived And We Are Ready!

Posted on Friday, June 7, 2024 by Paul

I had difficulty sleeping last night because I was going for a blood test at 10:00 am, so I decided to study to ensure I passed.   Mary got me up early, had me shower, and changed my underwear; she said, “You never know!”

What do you say when two red blood cells get married? Coagulations!

After the blood test, which, by the way, I passed with flying colors, we passed the pharmacy, and it had an amazing display of what they say is old stuff. Hells Bells, I recognized each one and used the products over my lifespan! “Old Stuff,” phooey!

Just a few years ago, when I was young, I used to mix Phillips Mike Of Magnesia with Vodka to make a Phillips Screwdriver.

The local pharmacy has a great display!

We departed the testing facility quickly before he discovered I substituted Josh Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon for y blood.

Laguna Hills Nursery is interesting as they always have an eclectic mix of veggies, and we have several plants to take home.

We needed some last-minute supplies.

When we walked into the house, Scout was cowering behind the sofa, staring at the squash, which he thought would attack him. We assured Scout that there was nothing to fear. This week, we shall be cooking a lot of squash (and this is after deliveries to friends of an equal amount!).

We picked, and OMG, we are overloaded.

We made an amazing, astonishing, astounding, fabulous, fantastic, fantastical, incredible, miraculous, phenomenal, prodigious, stupendous, unbelievable, wonderful, wondrous breakfast. Mary had fresh greens and fried three beautiful rooster eggs. I, on the other hand, prepared two breakfast steaks!

We dined and talked and just planned out the day.

Afterward, the kitchen looked like a crime scene from a spaghetti western. I bravely volunteered for cleanup duty since it seemed like a job for someone with a strong stomach. Meanwhile, Mary transformed into a gardening superhero with her outfit complete with a cape made of leaves.

Right AFTER breakfast!

We worked in the garden from noon until almost 5:00 p.m., planting, and mulching where the sun had reduced the straw to dust.  At 5:00 p.m., we declared victory and went VFR to the patio for vino!

Mary bugged me about washing my hands, and I reminded her that germs were healthy!

Gloves? What are gloves?

After a swig of wine, the iPhone and I returned to the crime scene. The iPhone insisted on using its “find my wine” feature, but all it kept locating was a bunch of grapes.

The green beans are snaking up their support and blossoming like mad. The watermelon is beginning to spread, so we will keep an eye on it so it does not become too leggy.

How does our garden grow?

“Attention, peas and cucumbers! Please remember to climb the trellis in an orderly manner, if you don’t mind. No pushing or shoving; we want hanging vegetables, not a vegetable brawl. I appreciate your cooperation!”

It looks really good; we will be full of tomatoes in another month.

And one of our favorite beds, the berries. They got so big that they took over the strawberry patch, so maybe next year, we will move the strawberries somewhere else.

Turn black!

Returning to the patio, Scout (aka Luigi) was lounging around like a furry diva, getting pampered by Mommy, who was busy brushing him and collecting enough hair to knit a new cat on the side.

Spoiled baby!

After the brushing, Mary and I again visited the garden and set up the rabbit trap.   If that little turd shows up again, I am going into the garage and get the electric fence which will light up his life with 25,000 volts of electricity.  You have been warned!

Fried green tomatoes are in the future.

What is the history of fried green tomatoes? – Fried green tomatoes are usually associated with the South, but if you were to look in Southern newspapers or cookbooks before the 1970s, you wouldn’t find mention of them anywhere. Jewish immigrants brought This dish to the US in the 19th century, later appearing in Northeastern and Midwestern cookbooks.

The bird machines are working well; we have had zero bird issues. However, we are looking for a bunny wheel!

We need one of these to scare the rabbits away!

We were aching, and that meant going to the swim spa. We entered the water aching and departed refreshed. It was 8:00 p.m., so Mary decided to assist me with finishing off our Ireland Adventure website.

She read and suggested/corrected while I feverishly attempted to keep up with the iMac’s overload. It took us an hour, but all is well. PLEASE JOIN US!

 

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Off To The Elks Between Errands!

Posted on Thursday, June 6, 2024 by Paul

I wake up every morning being just a little more in love with Dr. Mary!

We had a mission today, with a ton of errands to tackle. We rushed into the shower, dressed, and did a ready aim fire! The day started with a splash; hopefully, the rest will be less eventful!

Before we headed to the Elks, we had to make a pit stop at the Post Office to send off our quarterly taxes. Dealing with taxes always feels like a slow roast – the government takes 33% of everything we make and then splurges it on the most questionable stuff. We seriously need a superhero like Howard Jarvis to save the day!

From the post office, we went to Trader Joe’s to restock our wine supply. Turns out, doing errands is thirsty work! From there, we went to Dianne’s house to drop off some veggies and her Irish travel gifts, but on the way there, we stopped at the dry cleaners. Because nothing says ‘fun adventure’ like running errands, am I right?

As we came up the driveway, the Clampetts had just arrived.

Uncle Jed was at Dianne’s, so we visited.

We went down the hill and off to the Elks for Girls Night Out. Today, we had George, Bob Carlson, Iris, and Will because Capps was on vacation, and the Zs were just returning from back east!

Iris is always in rare form! She will be 98 on December 31st!

Departing the Elks, we are back on our continuing mission!

First, we went to Home Depot to see what veggies they had that we needed. We filled the back of the Silver Fox with greenery!

“Hey! I am NOT a pickup truck!”

We had to hightail it home by 2:30 pm because Juan was swinging by to inspect our sad excuse for a car fleet. Let me tell you, all three cars were dirtier than a pig in a mud bath!

After an hour, the cars were new looking and shiny like a dine in a goats butt.

We are not done yet. At 4:00 p.m., Dru popped over, and we visited, taking her to the back forty and filling her with a bag of veggies! She enjoyed visiting with us.

Nope, I’m not done yet.  AT 5:00 pm, Robin popped over to stay the night and assist us with the upcoming birthday party!  We were so tired from errands that we decided to go to Renada’s for dinner.  Besides, Luigi needed to have some fresh spaghetti to top off his dinner,

Scout, you are one spoiled baby!

Of course, Mary had the veal.

Robin went for the salad!

We brought a plate of food to our neighbor Jeff and left it at his door. By the time the sun set, we were more tired than a cat after trying to catch a laser pointer.

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Wednesday And Time To Travel!

Posted on Wednesday, June 5, 2024 by Paul

After last night, we slept late.  My eyes did not open until 7:45 am, and Mary was still sawing logs.  I crept into the office and began work on the Ireland Adventure website.  Soon after that, Mary came in, reminding me we had to leave the house in 20 minutes to get to the gym!  GYM??  On no, I forgot.

We were running on “gym time,” so we made it to the gym a fashionable 60 seconds late. We did our best and managed to lift a bag of chips to our mouths numerous times, so I’d say it was a successful workout. After that, we headed to CVS, the land of endless receipts and impulse buys, where I picked up my prescriptions for a cough that sounds like a pack-a-day habit.

From there, we went home and changed into our fanciest banana costumes. Mary packed a picnic basket with all the essentials – bananas, banana bread, and banana-flavored smoothies – and we were off and running to beautiful downtown Victorville. The locals gave us some strange looks, but we didn’t peel under pressure!

The drive was pretty!

Why Victorville? After Leon Brander passed away, his wife of 150 years was placed in a care facility in Victorville to be near her daughter. When we met up with Marcia, she was doing great – much better than the last time when the change in her lifestyle was new to her.

We sat together and reviewed the status of all her friends: Vicky and Jim, Donna and Bob, Mike and Bridgette, Jan Mongel (no change there), Ed and Betty Roberts, Neda, Nill and Mary Capps, Bob Carlson, George and  Beverly, and a host of others.

Marsha says, “Hello to everyone; miss you!”

We returned to civilization around 3:30 pm and worked in the garden!

The squash was easy to pick as they were huge!

The squash here is out of control!

Mary calls me “Scruffy”! She wanted me to grow a beard for Christmas, so I started right after the wedding. Two weeks in and I still look like I got in a fight with a lawnmower! Mary’s solution? She puts a Von’s bag over my head when we go out – I guess that’s her way of saying, “don’t worry folks, he’s normally better looking!”

Happy in the garden; where was Grumpy?

We enjoy spaghetti squash because it makes delicious spaghetti and meatballs with a third of the calories.

The spaghetti squash is waiting to be picked.

Ah ha! I found Grumpy. When the garden gets overgrown, I suddenly develop “back problems,” Mary heroically offers to dive into the foliage with her machete to retrieve the goodies. The foliage is so dense that she ends up diving in headfirst!

I found Grumpy busy picking more quash!

No, really. That is Mary behind the squash and in front of her Sweet Peas. Next time, I plan to put a tall stick with a flag so I can find her in the bushes.

She is back in the bushes, finding the pesky veggies.

This is the first truckload of the harvest.  While picking, we filled up two ninety-gallon waste containers that will make their way to the dump tomorrow.

It was loaded to the gunnels! The kitchen will be busy today!

We stopped at 5:30 p.m. because we needed to rest, and my gardening uniform was not keeping me warm! We had a glass of wine on the patio and just talked. What’s nice about living with your best friend is that we can just sit together and enjoy ourselves.

By the way, she took the bag off my head when we sat down, although she did turn her chair the other way!

After a brief glass of wine, we went into the swim spa for three cycles to relax our backs. Today’s never-ending picnic basket prevented us from having to make dinner. We were in the sack by 8:30 p.m. and slept through the night!

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We Are On The Treadmill Again!

Posted on Tuesday, June 4, 2024 by Paul

We’re “almost” recovered from the trip, but Becky called to say that some people got sick after the ceremony, and two had COVID. I had a chest cough, so we worried I might have caught it. We believe that alcohol kills bugs, so we weren’t too concerned, but I still took a COVID test just to be sure. It came back negative, so we were relieved and could move on from the scare.

We toiled in the garden until it was time for our first big event – a date with the doctor. Can you believe it? We had appointments with Dr. Tong, the acupuncture magician. He’s the only one who can turn our garden-weary backs into iron rods and my sciatica into a distant memory.

We had tickets with Vicky and Jim to see Funny Girl at the Segerstrom, so we decided not to go home. We went to South Coast Plaza and met up with them at the Silver Trumpet.

It had wonderful food and excellent service!

The Silver Trumpet is within walking distance of the theater, so we zipped over to the Segerstrom, where we saw Funny Girl.  The story is about the life of the 1930s comedienne Fannie Brice, from her early days in the Jewish slums of New York to the height of her career with the Ziegfeld Follies.

The performance was terrific.

After the show, we walked back to the restaurant, met up with Vicky, and then drove directly home. It was almost 11:00 p.m.

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It Be Monday, A New Week And 205 Days Until Christmas!

Posted on Monday, June 3, 2024 by Paul

It’s Monday morning, so it’s time to listen to one of my favorite songs from the 1950s. Today’s pick is  Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White by Perez Prado, released in 1955.

In 1955 I was in the sixth grade becoming a very fart smeller, oops, smart feller!  Junior High School was right around the corner meaning I was soon to be smarter that Mom and Dad (or I thought so back then).  Now the older I get the smarter they were.

Mary and I strolled through the garden after waking up, getting ready for the day’s adventures in the enchanting world of the garden.

The apple tree is growing vigorously, and I estimate that we are about two to three weeks away from harvesting.

We can see apple pie in the near future.

As we walked among the planters, you could see how large the tomato plants have grown this year. Mary will be using our portable ladder to harvest them.  Most of them tower over her.

The tomatoes are higher than an elephants eye!

The berry planter is in the early stages of maturation, and we can already spot a few black berries nestled within the foliage. These berries are currently unripe and will likely take approximately two to three weeks to reach full ripeness. Once they do, we can expect a plentiful harvest throughout the summer months.

Did we say berries?

The Sweet Peas continue to be abundant and will probably last another month until we have to pull them out.

We have flowers galore!

After our Irish vacation, my poor little body somehow attracted six pounds of blubber, which had to go away before our Caribbean adventure. Mary claimed she lost weight, but when she was on the bathroom scale, she was holding onto the towel rack!

We are off to Peak Performance, our personal training group.  As was waddled in, they pointed and giggled.  We knew we were in for trouble.  These people are first class, they know their stuff and even through we feel like a dish rag when we leave we feel better every day!

We only use the most updated equipment!

We went to Ralph’s market to get a quart of milk, but $350 later, we rolled out with seventeen bags of goodies. Next time, we’ll make sure to have breakfast before going to the market.

Breakfast! Yeah!!

We spent a good hour putting everything away because we prefer to label the dates that are often hidden on the packaging. After that, we had lunch, which included ten California rolls from Ralph’s, a local specialty containing a good number of quality ingredients.

At 1:30 pm we headed to see Dr. Rose to see about surgery on Paul’s hand to get rid of the arthritis pain. A trapeziectomy is a surgical procedure that removes the trapezium, a small cube-shaped bone in the wrist that connects the thumb to the wrist joint, to treat thumb arthritis. The surgery is usually performed under general anesthetic and can take 60–90 minutes.

Returning home, we visited Jeff and brought him some of Mary’s stuffed squash. We stayed about thirty minutes and finished off a glass of wine that we had just picked up from Trader Joe’s on the way home from the doctor.

We are still recovering so we crashed around 9:00 pm!  Tomorrow we should be back to “normal!”

Posted in Doctor, Working Around House | Comments Off on It Be Monday, A New Week And 205 Days Until Christmas!