Sad-A-Day Done Arrived!

Breakfast Is Served!

The world keeps spinning, doesn’t it? Today was no exception! We were up and cleaning before the sun was fully awake—by 7:00 am, we were on it. It’s just another busy day, but who doesn’t love a little chaos?

Dru was joining us for “Orientation Day” at the Elks, so we prepared ourselves for that big event at noon. Mary and Dru headed off to the meeting while I drank two Hot Toddies—hey, someone has to ensure the house is safe from boredom! After our so-called “meeting,” we had some lunch, which was homeward-bound.

In the afternoon, Mary worked in her closet while I napped.  4:00 pm and we are on the road again, back to the Elks for an 85th birthday party!  Larry Collier was celebrating this evening.

We dined and danced and watched the video of Larry growing up in Downey, California!!

We rocked the room!

Dinner, dancing, and a nostalgic video of Larry growing up—we were living our best lives! And let me tell you, we rocked that room with some impressive moves. Our table was filled with The Z’s, the Kuhns, and another lovely Starlighter couple, making it quite a lively gathering.

Just us! (I get surgery next week for the facial spots)

Just a heads up, I’ve got surgery next week for those pesky facial spots, so I was soaking up the fun tonight. We wrapped up the evening around 9:30 pm, exhausted but happy, knowing we’ve got Starlighters to look forward to tomorrow!

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Work Work Work Work Work! Phooey!

That’s all we did!  Nothing romantic just worked.  In the afternoon, I got my beard fixed and went grocery shopping.   I was shocked at the prices!

Mary made a nice dinner, and we went back to work!

We crashed at 9:30 pm after watching a couple of movies WHILE WE WORKED.

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Today, we have two items on the agenda: Girl’s Night Out and dinner with the Linds. The remaining portion of the day will be spent continuing cleaning activities. Today’s targets are Robin’s Nest Closet and Mary’s Closet.

We talked a lot about our garden. Soon, we will have to trim the grapes, clean up the winter garden, turn the soil, and prepare to plant the Summer Garden in March.

We may try a couple of these in one of our large barrels.

We went to the Elks and arrived at about 11:45 am.  Gail Peterson joined us along with Sydney and her dad, so we had a large table of noise makers today!   Iris, who is 98 years young, was in great shape today and filled the room with giggles.

As we left, we couldn’t help but notice the romantic setting for Valentine’s Day. Meanwhile, thinking we’re stuck on a ship with Jon and Sarah, who somehow think a margarita-fueled karaoke session is the perfect way to celebrate love.

Nothing says romance like hearing Jon attempt “Endless Love” while Sarah tries to drown him out with “Despacito.” At least the ocean will be our witness when we throw our terrible singing overboard as an offering to the love gods!

Getting Ready!

Back home, we relaxed, cleaned, and organized. I spent some time getting our website ready for the gardening activities.

As we departed for dinner at the Linds, I captured our romantically themed house with pink and red lights around the front yard!

We love the Govee lights; we never have to climb a ladder again!

It took 40 minutes to drive from Orange to La Habra, and our timing was perfect! As we drove up, Becca and Lilly were getting home, so we decided to caravan to dinner.

El Cholo was one of LA’s first Mexican restaurants and is now over 100 years old, being founded in 1923.

When I was going to USC, I would go to El Cholo with my fraternity brothers whenever I could!

I had the” Chile Con Carne” (1923), which features tender beef, traditional chile sauce, tortillas, and guacamole.  1923 signifies that it has been on the menu for 100 years!

The dinosaur king enjoyed his books!

We shared the latest gossip with Zach and Becca, getting the lowdown on work, sports, family, etc.

He has grown up to be quite the family man; his father would be very proud, as are we!

We had a super dinner and got to visit with Lilly and Remi.  As we departed, I snapped a bye-bye shot of us going to the parking lot.

Nice looking family!!

We were cruising down the road when I felt a sneeze creeping up on me. Just as I was about to grab a tissue, the car hit a bump, which turned into a full-on runny nose attack! The dark made it harder for me to navigate the tissues, so I ended up looking like a cartoon character!

Mary went to bed and read while I worked on the website. By 10:00 p.m., we were out like lights!

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Today Is Hump Day – We Are On The Move!!

7:00 am came early today, and we needed all the rest we could get.  First, head to the gym to get loosened up and stretch these tired old muscles.

After the workout, we went to CVS, got some meds, and then we headed home!

Returning home, Mary got ready for this afternoon’s adventures, including visiting the dentist at 1:00 p.m., seeing part of Charlie’s soccer game at 3:30 p.m., and dinner with Kyle and Robin at Patty’s Place at 5:00 p.m. Oh my!

I had a few minutes to update our gardening website at http://lilesnet.com/gardening/index.htm.  It needed to be refreshed and updated to account for the move to Orange from Rossmoor.  I also included how we built the new garden!

The picture below was “opening day”!

Opening Day! We drank the champagne instead of breaking the bottle over the sign!

While Mary was getting ready, I thought I would write a quick letter to Joe since he was so nice during the windstorm:

Dear Son,

I’m writing slowly because I know you can’t read fast.

We don’t live where we did when you left. Mary read in the paper that most accidents happen within twenty miles of home, so we moved.

I can’t give you the address because the last family to live here removed the numbers from the house so they wouldn’t have to change their address.

We got a new washing machine. I put four shirts in the first day, pulled the chain, and haven’t seen them since.

It only rained twice this week—three days the first time and four days the second time.

About the coat you wanted me to send, Mary said it would be too heavy to mail with the buttons, so we cut them off and put them in the pockets.

Your sister had a baby this morning. I haven’t found out whether it’s a boy or a girl, so I don’t know if you’re an aunt or an uncle.

Your Nephew Connor fell into the whiskey vat. Some men tried to get him out, but he fought them off playfully, so he drowned. We cremated him, and he burned for three days.

Three of your friends went off the bridge in a pickup truck. One was driving, and the other two were in the back. The driver got out, rolled down the window, and swam to safety. The other two drowned because they couldn’t get the tailgate down.

There’s not much more to tell this time. If you don’t get this letter, let me know, and I’ll send another one.

Love, Dad

About six months ago, we had a 1:30 p.m. appointment with the tooth surgeon to uncover two inserts in my mouth.

We kibitz around all the time!

Dr. Gragga is a great guy and pretty much painless!  Now that I am in position, the camera is shut off, and he jumps on my chest with vise grips, a 5-pound sledgehammer, and an assortment of chisels!

We were called out for a special medical situation, so we did not leave the office until almost 4:00 p.m. when we texted Joe and Charlie to let them know we would miss the game!

OUCH!!

Once I stopped screaming at the top of my lungs and put drops in my eyes due to the incessant crying, we left for Los Alamitos to visit our jewelry store and pick up a ring for Mary.

We then went to Patty’s Place, arriving there at 5:00 pm, a little early, but we sat at our booth, and Nick, the owner, came by and chatted with us for quite a while.

Patty’s always has fresh flowers.

Since arriving early, we had a glass of vino (I had a “purple gin”) and ordered some hard-boiled eggs. We did what we usually do, laughing and giggling the whole time.

Robin joined us around 5:15 pm, and we coordinated future activities with her.

Kyle came in about 5:10 pm and joined us for dinner!

We spent almost three hours visiting and retrieving memories of days gone by. It was good to see Kyle, as he is a sharp young man. Oh my, he told us he would turn 50 in a few months! I can remember him at Boring, still wearing short pants!

Patty’s is known in the local area for outstanding meats and fish; they did it again last night! Mary had the rack of lamb while Kyle and I did a giant sea bass.  Roobin had a salad.

Mary had a little lamb!

A chip shot for the road, and we’d be off—assuming we don’t get sidetracked by a squirrel convention or an impromptu dance-off with some pigeons. You never know what adventures await when you’re trying to leave!

We pointed The Silver Fox towards home, and off we went.

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Wind Wind Go Away; Come Back Some Other Day!

It was a great idea while it lasted!!

We were road warriors today!  We went next door, woke up the roosters; they were not doing their job today!

We were showered by 6:30 am, feeling like we were competing in the Olympic sport of Speed Showering. Meanwhile, the power flickered like it was trying to do the cha-cha – it could’ve gone off at any moment, and we were just one shampoo bottle away from a total blackout situation! Who knew morning hygiene could feel so much like a reality show challenge?

We had to be in Irvine at 8:30 am for an eye appointment; my semi-annual eye exam was scheduled.  All in all, Dr. Klein said I was doing well….for an old fart!!  A slight glaucoma issue, but nothing to worry about yet!

Glaucoma is a chronic eye disease that damages the optic nerve, which can lead to vision loss and blindness. It’s usually caused by a buildup of fluid in the eye that increases pressure on the optic nerve.  My pressures were A-OK today but little did he know and removed 10 psi earlier!!

Mary studied the test results and was NOT happy with her results!

Dr, Klein and Mary go back many years and Mary turned over all her patients to him when she retired; he is an upright honest man!

A-1 Class Act!!

From there, we headed home to pick up Mary’s watercolor equipment. The visit was a  “fly-by”; we were home for six minutes flat!  Scout was confused!

It was brunch time! We went to Benji’s, and as we walked in, we looked up—there were Vicky and Jim! This was not a “surprise” but merely unexpected. We joined them and talked for 45 minutes about near-term social plans!

We departed quickly as Mary had a noon appointment at the 801 building to see her eye person who does hard-contact lenses.  That took about 45 minutes.

We went to the Tustin Senior Citizens Center, where Mary has her class from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. While she painted, I returned home, put new tires on the generator, repaired the back door, and opened Amazon boxes!

I picked her up at 3:00 p.m. (plus a few extra minutes because, apparently, my GPS thought the freeway exit was a suggestion, so I decided to take the scenic route… which just happened to be the wrong one!).

Mary was waiting in the park when I arrived and she was waving something wildly at me!  It was her latest masterpiece!

She gets better and better!!!

We stopped by the cleaners, who had a note saying, “Be back in twenty minutes.”  Phooey, we went home.

We examined the backyard for wind damage, and I suggested we put up a sign saying it is OK to be topless in the backyard…based on our gazebo!!!

Oh my, our gazebo is topless!

We were not the least bit hungry so Mary started working in her bathroom and I finished off the office.

At 10:30 pm we declared victory and crashed!

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Blow the Man Down…. I Mean The Street

Blowing all night long

We had difficulty sleeping as the wind was blowing (and whistling) all night.  At 6:30 am, I got up, turned on the heat, and entered today’s stat of the Daily Diary because we may lose power anytime.

At 2:30 am, we got this from SCE: “Congratulations! You’ve won a lifetime supply of… unexpected outages?” Who knew the electric company was also in the comedy business?:

We will likely shut off your power in the next four hours due to wind-driven fire conditions, which could last through Wednesday afternoon. We are working to reduce the number of customers affected. Weather could also affect shutoff timing, and wind-related outages may occur. We will notify you again if we shut off your power. For the latest updates, outage map, and availability of community resources, click here.

While the internet was up, I checked our local forecast, which, as expected, informed me it would be a windy day. Perfect! Just what I need—free hair styling courtesy of Mother Nature! Looks like I might need to anchor myself down to avoid taking an unexpected flight down the street. I can already picture the headlines: “Local Resident Gets Lifted by Wind, Lands in Neighbor’s BBQ—Now in Charge of Grilling!”

When I went out to change Luigi’s water and give him some food, I noticed our gazebo must have gotten mad and blew his top!  His cover looked like a teenage girl’s jeans!

We got ready to go to the gym, taking the world’s fastest showers, we were hoping to avoid having our hair full of soap and the water turn cold when the power went out. Our tankless hot water system needs electricity to start!

I was sure the neighbors would call the authorities if I showed up in the garage with the door open, pulling on the starter cord in my birthday suit…. which reminds me, I have to get my birthday suit ironed. It is full of wrinkles!

Joe has our van until his truck came home from the hospital.  That’s good because we don’t need it for several more weeks, but we saw a cartoon we might use someday if we get asked again!

p.s.  I sent the cartoon to Joe and he replied he loves the red covers! I am now worrying about that boy! 

The bewitching hour came upon us, and we departed for the dreaded gym. My cough is gone, but my nose is running like a fire hydrant because of all the crud in the air caused by the fires. The gym owner, a great guy, took me to his office and worked on my back for an hour, and I could sit up and get my nose to cease.

We were hungry and went to The Original Pancake House on Chapman.  We always share there because their omelets are generally 1500 calories, which means they are huge.  We shared a spinach and cheese omelet, and it was terrific.

Breakfast was outstanding!

We returned home and began our cleaning and organizing activities. Mary worked in her bathroom and the master bedroom while I worked in the two large closets in the office and Robin’s nest. I helped in the master bedroom by going through my chest of drawers, and oh my, what I was doing with 60 pairs of underwear and two dozen unmatched/worn-out socks was crazy. Mary and I are organized now!!

We must say that things are looking good!  We worked until it got dark and then visited Jeff, taking our glasses of vino with us and keeping him company for a good half-hour.   He reminded us that his wife passed away on January 19th, five years ago.  Suer will have passed five years ago on the 17th of February.

When we returned home, Robin called us for the nightly video conference. We shared our plans for the day before Valentine’s Day with her, and she will join the Zaitz/Liles for a pre-Valentine’s Day dinner (we will be on the ship on Valentine’s Day).

Hello, video!

We lost a good friend this evening.  Dru Cisneros was ostracized BECAUSE she gave us a wonderful fruit cake right after Christmas and when we decided not to have dinner our minds turned to the frig and there it was, low and behold, the prize fruit cake.  WE FINISHED IT! Thanks Dru for doing in our New Year’s resolution to slim down!

From the Collin Nakery in Texas, a calorie bomb!!

Did You Know About This Secret Bakery? The Collin Street Bakery was started in 1896, 128 years ago!

Their story begins when a young German entrepreneur, Augustus “Gus” Weidman, journeyed to the heart of Texas with nothing but a whisk and a dream. Little did he know, this was the start of something extraordinary.

When you take a bite of their cakes, you’re not just tasting a dessert; you’re experiencing a piece of history. Every ingredient is carefully selected, and each step of the baking process is executed with superior craftsmanship, resulting in premium, world-class cakes that celebrate the legacy we’ve built over more than a century.

 

By 9:30 pm, we were ready for bed, and let me tell you, it felt like we had just run a marathon—if marathons involved cleaning/organizing a house! At this point, I could’ve sworn my bed was calling my name like a long-lost friend: “Come snuggle in!” It had been such a long day that even my pillow looked like it was plotting a world record for fluffiness!

 

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We Never Left The House; We Is Nesting!

Perhaps “cleaning” is the wrong word.  We are just going through all our drawers and closets and eliminating things we do not need, things out of date, things we can’t recognize, etc.

When we were having lunch, the doorbell rang low. Behind me were my fantastic son and his trusty sidekick, Charlie.   They worked for two hours, including a trip to Home Depot for tires/innertubes/

The generator has new oil, a clean air filter, and a full tummy – we are ready for tomorrow!

Joe and Charlie also installed my drain valve on the air compressor so I can drain water whenever needed without moving the tank!

No more flat tires; these are solid rubber!

We spent the rest of the day working in the house or garage.

As it got late, we watched a ten-part TV series entitled “The Night Agent.”  Summary: “The Night Agent” tells the story of FBI agent Peter Sutherland, stationed in the White House basement as a “night agent” manning a rarely used emergency phone line, who gets pulled into a dangerous conspiracy when a young woman, Rose Larkin, calls seeking protection after witnessing a murder, forcing him to uncover a mole within the highest levels of the US government while protecting her from assassins and unraveling a plot that could threaten national security; based on the novel by Matthew Quirk.

We continued sorting clothes. We now have five large boxes of clothes, sheets, and blankets.

In all my 80 years on this planet, I NEVER had allergies, but I could give Rudolph a run for his money at Christmastime because I have been blowing my nose ALL DAY LONG!

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Pre Prepared; I Was A Boy Scout Before They Went Off The Rails…Too Bad!

First thing this morning, I heated the water in the tea kettle to the point of ebullition. We had our tea and checked our email. Looking at an email is like opening a box of chocolates—you never know what it will be!

The first email was not what we wanted to hear; it was a note from good ól SCE:

High winds and dangerous fire conditions are forecast from Monday morning through Wednesday afternoon. We may have to shut off your power to decrease the risk of destructive wildfires. Power restoration typically takes 8 hours and will start after the wind subsides. Delays may occur if daylight is required for safe inspections. We are working to reduce the number of customers whose power will be shut off and will keep you updated. For the latest updates, an outage map, and information about customer care services, click here.

I called upon my trusty son and asked if he could figure out what oil I needed for the generator. It is about ten years old, and I have lost the instructions! p I took some pictures and hope it helps

It has been a lifesaver!!

Something other than oil might work, a different solution!

We worked around the house most of the day and got ready to celebrate Amy’s SURPRISE birthday party in Whittier.

We all arrived at 6:00 p.m., and Amy was supposed to arrive at 6:30 p.m. Before she arrived, I ordered two wines to the bar (in front of the establishment). Just then, the door opened, and Amy stepped inside, amazed to find me there.

Instantly, I went into creative mode and told her we were having dinner with one of Mary’s old patients who lived in the area.  The owner/bartender knew what was happening and asked if Joe and Amy would like to join us; he offered a table for six.

I said, “Fine. Take Amy and Joe to the table, and I will follow with the wine.  ” He directed Joe and Amy to the back of the room and then opened the doors. The lights went on, and pandemonium broke out!

Charlie and his lady were the photographers.

Someone has a girlfriend.

Was she surprised; we are pretty sure she was!

Amy had friends from elementary school present for this event.

Amy was surprised

Amy visited with everyone, and Joe had the camera ready to go!

Ear-to-ear smile!

Everyone was excited to see her and giggled at being “over the hill.”  I tried to tell her there was NO SUCH THING!!!

Making the rounds.

We sat with Amy’s parents, whom we know well. We enjoyed their company and swapped travel stories all night long.

Visiting with Joe’s in-laws

The food was terrific.  My spaghetti and meatballs were the best I have had in years, and needless to say, Louigi, our Australia Shepard, will be dining on this for a couple of days!

Oh my, there was a lot of food!

Jow was Joe, an amazing “young” man we are proud of!!  He makes me smile whenever I hear him because he cares for others and knowledge of the world.

He was always happy, like his Dad.

One little girl was present, sharing her teddy bear with everyone like it was a hot new toy at a sleepover. She took a liking to Mary, duh! I mean, who wouldn’t? Mary was the only one not trying to turn the teddy into a wrestling opponent! Meanwhile, the bear probably thought, “I didn’t sign up for this! I just wanted a nap!”

Mary meets a new friend.

Joe and Amy are a cute couple, and we wish them another fifty years of birthday celebrations!!

Cute as a bug’s ear; that’s what Mom used to say!!

We headed home after 9:00 p.m. and crashed. The doggie smelled the spaghetti, so we had to add some to his dry food, which disappeared instantly.

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Let There Be Light!

When we woke up, it was darker than a black hole wearing sunglasses!  It was darker than the inside of a cat! I half expected to bump into my own coffee mug and have to negotiate a peace treaty with my slippers!

There is no power again. We are getting used to going outside in the early morning, collecting wood from the neighbor’s house, starting a fire, and having coffee.

The generator and I are having quite a love affair! I open the gascock and put his rope in, and he purrs like a kitten! Hundreds of killy-wobbles support the generator through the lines, making the refrigerators hum like a beehive.

Go, baby, go!

We fixed breakfast for Jeff and brought it to him; we joined him in getting our own!  We took his battery backup, which was at zero, and plugged it into our generator, and within three hours, it was fully charged.

More bad news about the fires, and I thought this appropriate.  Newscum and his whack environmentalists save a useless fish, do not clean up the forests, defund the police and firefighters, and push DEI and other liberal crap on us… this is what you get!

Ready for this…According to the report, homelessness funding was larger than the LAFD budget for the second year in a row.

This idiot should be horsewhipped!

The power finally returned around 2:00 p.m. We cleaned up all the cables, moved the generator out of the way, reset the clocks, and sat to watch a new American Primeval series. The series examines the fight to gain control of the American West and the sometimes violent clash between religion and culture in Utah Territory.

We crashed early.

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Day Two Without Power!

Mary was happy I had just bought her a stainless steel teapot because we had gas, water, and tea!!  We sat and looked at each other, knowing we had to leave for Scout’s groomer at 11:15 am.

We developed a plan of action, the first of which was “Start The Genny!”   We needed hot water to clean up!

I looked at the front yard and came back inside; this is no job for an old man; besides, our landscaper is coming tomorrow, and he will make it all well again!

The yards and patios were wrecked.

Mary had some things for me to do inside, so I started at the top of the list; perhaps I should have started at the bottom!

I tried to fix things inside the house!

We headed to the lodge with Scout in the back seat as he would be dropped off at the groomers.

We arrived, and soon after, everyone else joined in.  Karen wanted to celebrate Iris’s birthday, so I gave her a dozen “Sea Boogers” because that’s her favorite.   Iris is quite impressive; 98 and sharper than a tack!

We celebrated Iris’s 98th birthday with a dozen oysters!  Picture courtesy of Vicky and her “Good Camera”

Karen got her a dessert also, and the gang sang Happy Birthday; Vicky is the photographer today!

We sang to her.  Picture courtesy of Vicky and her “Good Camera”

OK, Iris. Take a big breath and blow out that candle!

Contrary to the rumors, Iris did NOT blow out her dentures while blowing out the candle!

Vicky is doing what we have been doing: going through the closets and organizing things we do not need. I got rid of almost 40 of my Aloha-themed shirts, 25 black T-shirts, and several jackets. The Salvation Army will like these, as they are practically new.

Vicky joined us, and she devoured a dozen oysters as well!

We ran by CVS  and Walgreens and retrieved the baby from the groomers.  Damn, he smells good after a visit with them.

There was still some wind, but nothing like earlier in the day.

The pool water needed to be raised, so I turned on the spigot and snapped a picture of the Sun setting, which was bright orange. The LA fires are horrible, and the authorities’ mismanagement should be prosecuted. From the “Delta Smelt” fiasco to the mismanagement of forests, the green folks and environmental fruitcakes need Poppins!

When I went out to turn off the pool water, the sun was setting, and the fires made it “beautiful!

We went to Jeff’s and checked in on him, and returning home; we had one light bulb on in the house, so we killed off a bottle of wine and headed to the sack before 98:00 pm.

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