Paul & Mary's Daily Diary

Fact: Beautiful St. Augustine, Florida, was settled by Spanish admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles on this day in history, Sept. 8, 1565. Continuously inhabited now for 457 years, it’s the oldest city in North America.

To brighten up your day!

He will never find his way out!

Today will be exciting as cement mixers and pump trucks will be doing their thing, making the planter walls solid retaining walls. I pity the poor people who may want to remove the garden someday; they will need dynamite!

We needed a pumper because we have a large parcel of land and a 250′ distance between the street and the backyard garden.

The pumper had almost 200 feet to reach the garden.

I parked my car in front of the house, blocking as much area as possible so the trucks could get in quickly.

We got ready to go to the gym at 7:30 AM so we could arrive at 8:00 AM sharp and return home by 9:30 AM as we wanted to see the action before leaving for Girls Night Out. Well, it did not happen. As we left, the hoses were being laid out from the street to the garden.

I heard another silly law being proposed to ban guns! Ban guns and shooting stops; ban lighters and fires, stop! Same logic; when will they learn it is NOT the guns?

The moronic legislatures used the same logic. They do not understand the problem!!

We were gone when they started pouring the concrete, but I had the security camera overlooking the garden Thai could watch the process; it took him about two hours to put the concrete down through the openings in the block. Now the wall is solid cement and will not move, ever!

The video reveals all.

I came to the Elks with David because we had just been at UCI over in Orange. Mary drove my car to the Elks, and at the end of lunch, Mary and I went home together.

It was Girl’s Night Out at the Elks.

I ordered my special, which is called a chili size. It was invented in the mid-1930s in Los Angeles and is simply a nice meat patty smothered in chili with a nice portion of onions and cheese. It is delicious

I overate – I did a chili-size.

What I should’ve had was what Mary ordered. She had a wedge salad with a side of filet mignon steak, which looked mighty good. BTW, I was the recipient of all of Mary’s onions.

Mary remarked, “A man goes to the doctor with a piece of lettuce sticking out of his ear. The doctor looks at it and says “that’s just the tip of the iceberg.”

Mary was a good girl!

David knew about half of the people there today, so he did not feel uncomfortable, but as you know, David never feels uncomfortable. A fantastic guy and fun to be with.

David stopped in as he took me to UCI to get an MRI appointment.

As usual, girls’ night out was a giggle fest, with everybody telling jokes, relating old stories, and shooting harpoons back and forth across the table.

This is what a happy girl looks like!

When I arrived home, everybody was already gone. We walked the construction area, and it looks pretty good. The estimate of two weeks to complete is probably right on.

I have decided to fill one planter at a time and ensure I got what I wanted instead of ordering 30 yards of soil, which I would be unhappy with! My little wheelbarrow can handle 1/2 yard at a  time, so I figure sixteen trips from the front yard to the back, and I can fill one bed. I can do this, and it will be excellent exercise.

These walls are now SOLID.

Scout, The Wonder Dog, wants to know how much he has earned supervising the contractors. We are in serious negotiations at this very moment.

Scout gives his nod of approval!

Mary had an Orange County Ophthalmology meeting this evening and departed at 5:00 PM. She was a past president of this organization and still knows several members. I continued work in the He-Shed, took out the trash, set the rat traps, did some wash, and worked on the daily diary. She returned at 9:30 PM, and I can honestly say I missed her!

Our security system worked, and I was alerted when the garage door opened. I can and got two glasses of wine. I had just taken a shower, so I was in my robe. A great idea came to my little pea brain. I dropped my robe, had two glasses of wine ready, and stood just inside the door to the garage. When she opened it, she yelled out a blood-curdling scream! Was it my magnificent naked body that scared her or just me being there? We will never know!

She made me put up the following sign!

Fact: Paul retired from North American Aviation, Rockwell International, and Boeing on 3/21/2007 after 41 years of service.  It was 5648 days ago, and he loves every second of it!  (15 Years, 5 Months, and 17 Days).

Mary retired from being an eye surgeon on 11/22/2021, just before the holiday!  It was 289 days ago, and she now has time to live!  (9 Months and 17 Days).

Remember, with retirement; you can wake up in the morning with zero to do and go to bed having done a mere half of it!

We were up early, and I hit the He-Shed ready to do battle.  We soon after went to Home Depot and got four 2″x4″x10′ timbers so I could add room in the “attic.”  Things like tables, chairs, hoses, and tarps are now stored about our heads and give us room to move.

Back in the May!

On our way to the store, our contractor delivered waterproof cement bags.  Rapid Set Waterproofing Mortar is a high-performance, polymer-modified cement coating.  Durable in multiple environments, Waterproofing Mortar is a blend of Rapid Set hydraulic cement, high-performance additives, and quality aggregates.  It has a working time of 30-minutes, can be exposed to hydrostatic pressure from 3-days to 5-days, and cures to a gray concrete color.  Use Waterproofing Mortar on interior or exterior concrete and masonry surfaces above and below grade.  It can waterproof basements, foundations, retaining walls, tilt-up concrete, cast-in-place concrete, and precast concrete.

Waterproofing today; we are getting close to being done!

The coating is applied by hand on the inside of the beds, so the moisture does not discolor the stone when wet.

One coat will do the trick!

Once applied, the water barrier is set, and no water will flow through the bed to the outside wall!  Each of the three center beds are two 1/2x 4 x 22 or 220 cubic feet or eight cubic yards or $560 in dirt!  We found a good mix called “Soil Mix” available directly across Katella from our house!

The coating is applied by hand!

While the contractor was doing his thing, I added 2x4s to the top of the He-Shed so the folding tables, tarps, hoses, and flexible drip lines would have a home; I would get a lot more walking space1

The He-She gets a facelift!

When the temperature reached 100 degrees, Mary ordered me into the house, and we talked.   The phone rang, and it was Jan; she was in an uproar.  Her refrigerator was dead, and her daughter ordered a new one.  Three days after the new one arrived, she opened the freezer, and the damned handle came off in her hands.  To make things worse, someone came out and wanted $260 to repair it!

Good news; I got the insurance companies OK to proceed with a three=tesla MRI!

We dropped everything and headed to her house via Ralph’s market, where we brought her sushi, crackers, pinwheels, and several other things, including a “Love You” card.  We got her over the hump, which is not easy for someone living alone and 80+ years of age.  We are happy to be there for her.  Our motto: Pay It Forward!

Returning home, we popped into the pool and floated around for a while.  It was 86 degrees and quite lovely!  We did cottage cheese and fresh tomatoes for dinner, a great way to reduce weight.  I am tipping the scale at 206 now, on my way down to 195!

We crashed at 9:00 PM as tomorrow is a big day!