We Had A Full Day!

Posted on Monday, August 8, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Bats always turn left when exiting a cave.

We were up at the crack of dawn as we had an appointment at Los Al Medical Center for a pulmonary function test.  We arrived on time and were greeted by a technician who waved us off!  The machine was busted!  So by 9:00 am, we were in a quandary; do we stay and have breakfast or go home?  We opted for home as that’s the best place to eat.  Mary worked her magic in the kitchen while I did several repair jobs.

The Silver Fox whisked us down the 22 freeway, and by 10:00 am, we were home.   We watched a movie as it was too warm to go outside, and at 3:00 pm, we were dressed and ready to rock and roll.  We rolled down to Laguna Canyon and met up with friends for an afternoon at the Festival of Arts.

We entered the grounds at 4:00 pm.

We enjoyed sitting and having wine while we waited for dinner planned for 6:00 pm.  We walked around the artwork to pass the time.

Interesting collection of “art.”

Terra Laguna Beach is the on-property dining destination and event venue, focusing on California cuisine with sustainable food practices, utilizing farm stand fresh ingredients, and creating artfully crafted meals.  Surrounded by nature and creative expression, Terra Laguna Beach offers guests an artistic culinary experience unique to this place and space.

We had a private area above the restaurant.

Vicky was my next-door neighbor for thirty years and a fantastic person!  Not too often do we sit next to each other because the kibitzing goes on continuously.

Thank you, Vicky, for putting this together!

Dinner is done; time to enter the outdoor theater!

Mary, Vicky, and Donna.   Ladies, the show is about to begin!

We entered and found our seats.  We have the best in the house!  Row G is perfect!

Inside, we had perfect seats.

There were sixteen of us this evening, and we are all like family to each other.

Bring on the show!  Vicky, Paul, Mary Yollie (Vicky’s sister), and Irene are left to right.

It is a wonderful world.

A kaleidoscope of international art becomes your passport to distant lands, cultural celebrations, and fascinating history in the 2022 production of Wonderful World.  Transported through the theatrical art of living pictures, the Pageant sets sail in pursuit of seasonal festivities, ancient and modern, promising new surprises at every turn.  Prepare to be amazed by the Pageant’s intoxicating blend of original music, storytelling, and stage illusions.  WONDERFUL WORLD is a love letter to our common humanity,

The picture was interesting, especially when the figures moved!

 

Posted in Adventures, Dining Out, Family, Friends, Theater | Comments Off on We Had A Full Day!

Time To Dance!

Posted on Sunday, August 7, 2022 by Paul

Research also proves that dancing reduces stress and tension for the mind and body.  National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute studies have shown that dancing also prevents heart disease.

In the morning, we worked in the garden, deadheading some of the flowers and working on the drip systems.  We watched our televangelist at 11:00 AM while having lunch.  We dilly-dallied inside for the rest of the afternoon as it was too warm to be outside.

At 5:00 PM, we dropped by Jan’s on our way to Chino to dance.  We danced for two hours before heading back home.

Mary with our friends, the Capps.

It was an easy day; we needed that!

Posted in Dancing | Comments Off on Time To Dance!

More Celebrating; Yeah!

Posted on Saturday, August 6, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Birthday cards are extremely popular in the US.  Why so?  That’s because 58% of all cards purchased in the US are birthday cards!

Charlie had a birthday, and he asked Mary and I if his friends could come over for a swim party.  Duh, let’s do a party!  The gaggle arrived at 11:00 AM and headed for the pool!

Teenagers: Those old enough to know everything.   I overheard one of the teens say, “What do you call a Star Wars droid that takes the long way around?  R2-Detour.

The pool was a warm 87 degrees!

They were in the pool for a good two hours!  After getting out of the pool, the boys disappeared, so we went to find them.  Wow, almost like the 1950s again as the boys were in the street playing baseball.   Joe flew my drone over the game and took videos.

After two hours in the water and a lot of pizza, they tried their hand at baseball!

It was a beautiful but warm day.  I kept the house at 76 degrees, so the adults spent most of the time inside next to the chilled wine!  There was a nice breeze so sitting on the patio was also an option.

We got the pizza from First Class Pizza and had it delivered.  It was truly a fantastic pizza.

It was a beautiful day!

During gift opening and dessert time, Charlie made a killing.  Joe and I offered to hold his money but were refused.  We look honest, I think!  I also heard one of the boys say, “Why can’t you hear a pterodactyl in the bathroom?  It has a silent pee.”

There was more food, dessert, and presents after the baseball game.

The “cake” was excellent.  We all walked around with blue frosting o our faces.

Charlie is not a cake fan, so a LARGE cookie was served.

Joe’s inlaws and their friend Diane and sister Mary joined us.  The ladies enjoyed the pool, especially after Joe and I moved the portable umbrella over to where they were sitting.

We all had a ball! Alex was after the brownies!

After everyone departed, we went into the pool to enjoy the 88 degrees water.  After an hour, we were waterlogged and headed inside and watched some movies before crashing for the night.

We love family, and today was just super for everyone.

Posted in Family, Food and Wine, Fun | Comments Off on More Celebrating; Yeah!

To The Fair!

Posted on Friday, August 5, 2022 by Paul

Fact: The OC Fair has welcomed more than a million guests every summer since 2005 when it first hit its million-person mark.  It was only 21 days then; it’s 23 days now! 

See all the pictures from the fair right here!

We headed to the fair as soon as we returned from an unsuccessful visit to the hospital; the machine they needed to test for pulmonary function was busted.  Spirometry is the most common type of breathing or pulmonary function test.  The test measures how much air I can breathe in and out of my lungs and how easily and fast I can blow the air out.

Robin, Nick, and Colleen joined us in the Silver Fox.  We got there in about eleven minutes and entered via the yellow gate.

We are ready to go!

Mary had to kiss the snake.  Poor thing died of fright; he rattled three times and fell over.  It was a horrible sight.

Smooch!

We were hungry, and Mary wanted a turkey leg, so we stopped at the Blue Bayou, got a glass of wine, and sat on their patio.  Becca showed up soon after that, and everyone went out and got their favorite.

That turkey leg disappeared in a flash!

Robin did the same thing, but alas, her’s was overdone.  Crunchy would be a good word for it.

We have plenty of pictures of the evidence.

I wore my official martini shirt and canvas hat to protect my delicate head from getting burnt.

Hic!

We stopped at the petting zoo, where Colleen made friends with a Llama.  Did you know Llamas, who are Star Trek fans love to say, “Live llama and prosper.” I heard that a Llama mother and daughter are spitting images of each other.

Whose smile is goofier?

As we went toward the Centennial Far,s, we stopped by the Huey display, and the girls took turns flying the machine.

Oh dear, Remy is in the co-pilot seat!

Mary named her bird “Turkey Legs.” We should have known.

Mary makes a great sound like a chopper taking off.

We continued walking and put on over 7,000 steps today.  Becca did a perfect photobomb in the Carnival of Products, which was the name of the fair between 1907 and 1911!

The girls found a treasure and had to buy it!

I went by my favorite shirt store.  Mary bought me a green Hawaiian shirt that goes with the Hawaiian outfit.  I purchased an additional five shirts; two for Halloween, two patriotic, and one drinking shirt.

Our resident cowgirl got two blinged-out cowboy hats.  She plans to wear it to the upcoming concert she and Mark are going to.

Where did I park my hoss??

After all that walking, we had to rest, so we did in our favorite spot, the swim spa.  We soaked for a good hour, and I slept like a baby!

The lighting in the spa is excellent, ranging from green to bright reds and blues.

After soaking, we crashed.  It has been a perfect day with family!

Posted in Adventures, Family, Fun | Comments Off on To The Fair!

Whadaday!

Posted on Thursday, August 4, 2022 by Paul

Fact: 90% of U.S. money has cocaine on it.  A study revealed that 90% of the dollars circulating in the economy have cocaine from exposure or drug use.  Traces of cocaine were found to reach 0.006 micrograms (several thousand times smaller than salt).  The green dye on dollars causes cocaine residue to stick to the bills.

Ever feel like you are on a treadmill?  We popped out of bed and headed to the gym for our exercise and fitness.  Returning home for a few minutes, we headed out to Girls Night Out, where frivolity is king and silliness runs rampant!

We dined at the Farmhouse at Roger’s Gardens, which was terrific; the menu was excellent!

Mary & Bill’s first time here!

Chef Rich Mead has been cooking farm-to-table food before the term even existed.  With decades of culinary expertise, Chef Mead has cultivated relationships with the highest regarded local and sustainably focussed farms and purveyors, allowing him to create the freshest menus using locally sourced, seasonal ingredients and specially grown vegetables.  Today, Farmhouse at Roger’s Gardens is the culmination of Mead’s long-standing relationship with these farmers and purveyors, who have become in many ways like family and have provided him with quality ingredients that Farmhouse uses throughout the menu in thoughtfully crafted dishes and cocktails.

Chef Mead came out to greet us as he knows Jan Mongell well!

We had a lot of fun with spears and arrows flying in every direction!

Fun times

Colleen is learning how to dine out of the box; she had their eggplant special!  It looked good, and she did not even share it with anyone.

The eggplant special!

We departed about 7:30 PM and took a short drive to Mary and Bill’s place for some serious color matching.

Heading back to Bill’s

Mary asked the girls if they wanted to know their colors; a resounding YES came forthwith!

She was getting her color on!

Mary C. looked at me and said, “BLACK & BLUE.”!

Both Colleen and Mary liked the winter colors!

We departed Newport Beach around 9:00 PM with Colleen as the driver (for obvious reasons).  At home, we crashed; it had been a long day!

Posted in Family, Food and Wine, Friends | Comments Off on Whadaday!

Mid-Week Already! Happy Birthday Irene!

Posted on Wednesday, August 3, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Some in Britain still practice an ancient way of celebrating birthdays by placing thimbles and coins in the cake’s batter.  The person who will get the coin will be wealthy, and the one who receives the thimble will never marry.  The one that bites hard will break a tooth!

We decided to go to Sherman Gardens today, so we first stopped at the Cannon repair/service center and then another six miles to the gardens.  Mary and I are members, and we had a bunch of guess passes.

Come and join the fun at our website!

The flowers were magnificent, and Mary noted our front yard garden needs.

Hello there!

Did You Know? All dahlia flowers and tubers are edible. The flavours and textures can vary greatly depending on the soil and conditions in which they were grown. Flavours range from water chestnut through to a spicy apple or even carrot.

 

The restaurant was BUSY, so we put in our name and then strolled the garden for an hour.  The first stop was the cactus garden, and I got a picture of two thorns.  I know there’s something wrong with my cactus, but I just can’t put my finger on it.

I asked Mary if she had ever fit a porcupine with glasses.  I asked her if she had heard about what the porcupine said to the cactus.  “Hey there, good looking.”

The girls enjoy Sherman Gardens.

We wandered over to the actual library and spent 45 minutes looking through phone books for Los Angeles dating back to 1935.  I found my dad and neighbors.  An example is the Coolmer’ who lived across the street from me growing up!

Can you read it? John Coomler was a mechanic at Gree-Haldeman Chrystler in Los Angeles.  They love at 6047 Comey Avenue in LA.

The library was quite cool inside; it had good roof insulation!

We went to the library.

It was time to eat, so we headed to the restaurant and were seated immediately.  Mary did trout, I did quiche, and Colleen had a small steak!  The food was almost too pretty to eat, and we kept asking the waitstaff what the edibles were made from.

Quiche pronounced Quickie!

After lunch, we continued our walk and ran into a giant butterfly.

We tried to spray for it, but it followed us home!

We went into the hothouse to visit the rainforest creatures, and Mr. Turtle woke up and said hello.  It reminded me of what you get when you cross a porcupine with a tortoise—a slow poke.

Hey turtle, how’s it hanging?

It is hanging quite well, the bananas, of course.  That reminded me we did NOT have dessert.  I took a banana to the doctor yesterday because it wasn’t peeling well.

We ice cream and whipped cream, and dessert is served.

Hey there, good-looking!

In the garden.

On our way home, we stopped by Jan’s to drop off some wine and visit for a few minutes since Colleen is heading home Saturday.

Mary made another tomato pie; wow!!!

Irene’s birthday is today, so we called her, and she went over the perks of being over 80 with us!

1.  Kidnappers are not very interested in you.
2.  In a hostage situation, you will likely be released first.
3.  No one expects you to run–anywhere.
4.  People call at 8 PM and ask, “Did I wake you?”
5.  People no longer view you as a hypochondriac.
6.  There is nothing left to learn the hard way.
7.  Things you buy now won’t wear out.
8.  You can eat supper at 5 PM.
9.  You can live without sex but not your glasses.
10.  Your supply of brain cells is finally down to a manageable size.
Posted in Adventures, Food and Wine, Fun | Comments Off on Mid-Week Already! Happy Birthday Irene!

Happy Birthday Donna!!

Posted on Tuesday, August 2, 2022 by Paul

Fact:  The most common birth date in the United States, excluding leap years, is 22 May.

We adjusted our gym time because we celebrated with Donna and Bob in Laguna.  Colleen visited her mother and met us in Laguna, spending most of the day with us.

We opened presents at the winery! Mary had fun taking it apart; it was fun to watch everyone stuff it back in.

Unwrapping Donna’s gifts at Laguna Winery (One got away but we will set a trap!)

After tasting, we went to the Sawdust Festival and grabbed some foodies to tide us over until this evening.

It’s a bird; it’s a plane….

Donna told stories of being young and remembering.

Donna Remembers:

  • It took three minutes for the TV to warm up.
  • Nobody owned a purebred dog.
  • When a quarter was a decent allowance and made with real Silver!
  • You’d reach into a muddy gutter for a penny.  Made with real copper!  Looking to see if it was a 1943 lead penny!
  • You got your windshield cleaned, oil checked, and gas pumped, without asking, all for free, every time.
    And you didn’t pay for air?
    And, you got trading stamps to boot.
  • Laundry detergent had free glasses, dishes, or towels hidden inside the box.
    Not to mention Cracker Jacks!
  • It was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents.
  • They threatened to keep kids back a grade if they failed…and they did it!
  • When a 57 Chevy was everyone’s dream car… to cruise, peel out, lay rubber, or watch submarine races, people went steady.
  • No one ever asked where the car keys were because they were always in the car, in the ignition, and the doors were never locked.
  • Lying on your back in the grass with your friends and saying things like, ‘That cloud looks like a…’.
  • Playing baseball with no adults to help kids with the rules of the game.
  • Stuff from the store came without safety caps and hermetic seals because no one had yet tried to poison a perfect stranger.
  • When being sent to the principal’s office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited the student at home.

And with all our progress, don’t you wish, just once, you could slip back in time, savor the slower pace, and share it with today’s children?

We loved the Sawdust buildings; each is unique and fun to see.

Yep!  It’s the Sawdust!

They were wandering up and down, looking for a treasure.

Ookie Ookie over there, a bobble with bling!

We all got into the van, headed to Laguna proper, and parked near the restaurant.   We had to walk through a maze to get to the restaurant and also right by several candy stores.

What do you call Chewbacca when he has chocolate stuck in his hair?  Chocolate Chip Wookiee.

I asked Donna if she knew what you call a lamb covered in chocolate.  I whispered to her, “A candy baaa.”

STOP!  I am dry! Bob and I sang thee chorsus of “How Dry I Am” and three people stopped and gave us money to stop! Note to self: Bring a metal cup next time and dark glasses.

Bob and I wanted to stop right here!

C’est La Vie was our destination, and we had an excellent seat on the patio overlooking Laguna Beach.  We could watch the sunset and the beachgoers from our perch.

Colleen had a ball as Donna and Bob made her feel like one of us; poor girl!

Just plain cute, like her daddy!

We had a super dinner.   I had Cajun Linguine – Tiger shrimp, sausage, and chicken sautéed with onions, peppers, and tomatoes in a very spicy Cajun sauce, all on top of fresh linguine.  All of the meals were quite good!

Time to dine!

Time for dessert, and since it was a bakery, there was a fantastic selection of goodies.

Decisions Decisions

We had a wonderful day with fantastic friends!

Great times with friends and family!

Did I enjoy my meal or what?

Yummy; good for the tummy!

Our table was perfect.

We could hear the h-i-s-s-s-s-s- as the sun dropped into the water

We dropped off Colleen at the Sawdust (she had our car) and then stopped at the Laguna Winery to transfer wines into Bob and Donna’s car.  I think next time I will keep the wine in the bottle instead of pouring it in the back seat!  Purple leather does loo neat in the dark!

Mary and I popped into the Swim Spa as soon as we got home, and I almost fell asleep in the water; I guess the heat and the walking did me in.  We walked 6,600 steps yesterday.

 

Posted in Adventures, Dining Out, Friends, Walking | Comments Off on Happy Birthday Donna!!

Monday, Time To Kick Back!

Posted on Monday, August 1, 2022 by Paul

Fact: There are 32 muscles in a cat’s ear.  This feature is what allows cats to swivel and rotate their ears so that they can pinpoint the source of the noise.  But what’s more incredible is that they can move each ear independently and rotate them 180 degrees!

Today we had another gong on, so we messed around the house for a while and then headed to the Orange Circle, the center of Orange, California.  We walked around for a couple of hours and showed Colleen the “sights.”

Mary stopped at the new hat store and bought me a new black hat (she thinks I am the bad guy).  While shopping I saw an advert saying “Hairpieces from $5”.  I thought, “That’s a small price toupee.”

We loved their front window signs!

Oh, how true!!

Mary and I always wanted to stop at Paul’s Bar, but it looked a little seedy.  It turns out Colleen knows one of the bartenders, so we took a chance.  It was not seedy inside, and the people were very friendly.  We had a drink and cooled off; it was 93 outside.

So lovely and cool inside!

We stopped at several antique stores and looked for our personal treasures.  I just bought an antique clock with missing hands.  I think it’s a timeless treasure.

With a sign like this one, we had to go inside!

The store was huge, and I ventured into the backyard.

I now know what to do with my watering cans.  The water goes from can to can!

They had an extensive collection of junk!!

Inside, the girls roamed from aisle to aisle, chattering about this and that!  Mary and I remember so much from our childhoods; it was scary!

I was glad we did not have a pickup truck with us today!

We stopped by Jan’s on the way home and had a glass of vino.  From Jan’s, we went home and watched a movie on our new outside patio TV.  It was a good day with Colleen.

Posted in Adventures, Family | Comments Off on Monday, Time To Kick Back!

The Party Is Over! Let’s Do Another!!

Posted on Sunday, July 31, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Most elephants weigh less than the tongue of a blue whale.

Thank goodness for our caterers.  When we woke up, the kitchen was spotless, the outside was cleaned up, the trash was taken out, and the place was “spotless”.  We pretty much just relaxed the entire day.

At 5:00 PM we headed to Studio-M to dance the night away.  We all sang Happy Birthday to Colleen.

Colleen gets serenaded by the gang!

We were surprised by the cake!

Anniversary Number One

One more happy sound!  Colleen did well, especially after her half-hour speech!

Time for a group photo courtesy of Colleen.

The dancing gang!

We came home and crashed; it’s been a long weekend!

Posted in Dancing | Comments Off on The Party Is Over! Let’s Do Another!!

Party On!

Posted on Saturday, July 30, 2022 by Paul

Fact: The term ‘party’ was first used in the early 18th century.  Social events and celebratory gatherings were first called a ‘party’ sometime in the early 18th century.  The oldest known use of the term ‘birthday party was in 1852.

We beat the roosters up again as we had to prepare things for the evening party.  Colleen was a BIG HELP as she ran errands and helped us get ready to go.  By 3:00 PM, we were prepared for the catering staff to arrive and begin setting up tables, putting on table clothes, arranging the various food/beverage tables, and setting up the bar.

Join the fun!

Having fun!

We partied until 11:00 pm1  great fun.

Posted in Family, Food and Wine, Friends, Fun | Comments Off on Party On!

Party Time Is Near!

Posted on Friday, July 29, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Alexander the Great is famous for making the biggest party blunder in history.  After conquering Persia, Alexander settled down in Persepolis for a ‘symposium’ with his generals.  The drinking and partying began to get out of hand and ended abruptly when Alexander flew into a rage and burned down the city palace he now owned.  Needless to say, he regretted it the following day.

They were setting up the lights for dinner tomorrow.

We added two 50″ TV and a 45″ on the outside wall of the fireplace!

The girls knew work was to be done, so they escaped to the hairdresser.  They said they would be gone thirty minutes, four hours later they straggled in making wild claims about a hair dryer exploding, or something like that!

How can you make perfection better?

Colleen got a lice treatment first and brought some home in a jar.

Lookin’ good girl!!!

The rest of the day was getting ready for tomorrow.  Mary and Colleen fixed dinner with MAry teaching Colleen how to make the tomato pie!   It was yummy.   We went into the Swim Spa, and Chuck and Lisa went to the OC Mining Company for dinner.   When they returned, we hit the sack, and they used the Swim Spa; they loved it.

Posted in Friends | Comments Off on Party Time Is Near!

Happy Anniversary & Happy Birthday!

Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2022 by Paul

Fact: By the mid-to-late 1930s, people began to celebrate 1st, 10th, 20th and 70th anniversary along with 25th and 50th anniversaries. A gift for each of these milestone anniversary years was also decided by the society. The logic of presenting gifts was that stability deserves a reward and the more the stability, the greater should be the reward.

It has been a year since the big day!! and we are happier than ever. It’s a double because we are also celebrating Colleen being 50 years of age, almost an adult.

Mary and I had our “first date” on July 28th, 2020, got married on July 28th, 2021, and celebrated our first anniversary on July 28th, 2022 – all at Patty’s Place in Seal Beach.

Join the party!

Great fun!!!

I was told the next day that I had a good time!  So happy that daughter Colleen came with us and drove us home!

We teased Colleen, she is now this side of 50!

Posted in Family, Food and Wine, Friends | Comments Off on Happy Anniversary & Happy Birthday!

Wednesday; A Busy Day!

Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Our friends truly bring out the best in us.  In 2013, research at the University of California, San Diego, found that people look more attractive in a group than individually.  It’s a phenomenon called hierarchical encoding, but it might be more commonly known as ‘the cheerleader effect.’

Why does this happen?  The study proposes that “the visual system automatically computes ensemble representations of faces presented in a group.” Essentially, the more attractive people in a group serve to ‘raise the average,’ making the ‘average’ faces appear more attractive overall.

Bummer!!!

We were up at the crack of dawn and on the road to Long Beach for a 9:00 AM appointment with an oncologist.  The meeting went well, and we had many options.  Mary got a call from a long-time friend who is Chief of Urology at the Michigan University Hospital, and we talked to him for quite a while.

Dr. Sheri Marquez was excellent; first-rate!

We did not leave the office until 10:45 AM, making us about 20 minutes late for the celebration of life in Santa Ana.

The next stop, a sad stop, was Sam Deiner’s Celebration of life.  Sam, and Brenda, were long-time friends and Sam passed at the age of 52 of cancer.  He will be missed.

Sam and Brenda

Almost eighty folks came to pay their respects at the Santa Ana Elks.  After the ceremony, Brenda arranged for Ronnie to stay and play dance music for their dancing friends.  We stayed until about 3:00 PM before heading home.

The people were a mix of his Experian friends and his dancing friends.  The CEO of Experian made a tape so he could say something; he was out of town today.

Samuel J Diener from Lakewood, California, passed away on June 25, 2022, at the age of 52.  He attended Saint Pancratius elementary and middle school and Saint Anthony’s high school, where he played football.  Sam was proud to have graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor’s in Science degree in Business Administration.

He is survived by his wife, Brenda, and four sisters: Mary, Denise, Diana, and Ann, and their families.  He was preceded in death by his parents, Lillian H Diener and Samuel L Diener.

Sam worked in the information technology field, supporting a global team of executive leadership and board members for Experian.  Whether supporting his peers or leadership, he was loved and appreciated.  Sam saved many days with his expertise, calm demeanor, follow-through, and excellent customer support.  This is also where he met the love of his life, Brenda, and together they enjoyed swing and ballroom dancing, ice skating, traveling, visiting botanical gardens, and going to a wide variety of concerts and plays.  Sam also enjoyed, photography, cooking, sports, computers, gaming and movies – new and old.

Sam was a kind, gentle soul who also had a good sense of humor.  With his strong ethic of servitude, Sam was generous with his time and patience and enjoyed helping people.  He was a genuine person through and through.  His smile was made of pure joy and infectious to all around.  His eyes sparkled with his love for life and his friends and family.  Sam loved all animals, but particularly cats and was proud to have five rescue cats and considered them family.  On cold winter afternoons, he could be found on the couch with a blanket of his five kitties, who laid on him not only to warm themselves and nap as well, but also to warm him and ensure that he had the sweetest of dreams during his afternoon slumbers.

He has touched many in life and lived fully, leaving an abundance of memories for which we can be grateful and can recall, keeping his spirit alive in us all.

From there, we went home and met up with Chuck and Lisa, who flew in from North Carolina to assist with Saturday’s party.  We discussed the layout of the tables and everything and then went to dinner.

The excavation is underway, and so far, we have uncovered a spoon and a baby horseshoe.

They are still forming the foundation for the walls.

After dinner, we talked for a while and then crashed.  It was an emotional day, to say the least.  Colleen is driving back from Arizona, and we spoke to her at about 11:00 PM.  We told her to stop and not drive all night long.  She texted us at 1:30 AM and said she did stop for the night.

Posted in Dancing, Food and Wine, Friends, Gardening, Vegetable Garden | Comments Off on Wednesday; A Busy Day!

Tuesday And We Are Hard At Work! Awaiting Concrete!

Posted on Tuesday, July 26, 2022 by Paul

Fact:  According to a study conducted in America, Californian people are less likely to barbecue on a Tuesday than any other day of the week.

Today was a relatively slow day!  We went to the gym bright and early, returning home by 9:30 AM, at which time we did chores around the house.

I made the mistake of listening to the news, and here is my takeaway!

Seriously!

After seeing the pictures of Mary working so hard in the garden, I decided she needed a present so what better romantic present could I get than a garden cart?  Now I must find a big red bow and a card; HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!  How to get in trouble quickly!

I got Mary a present; I am such a romantic!

We do a lot of gardening, and the van was not big enough, so we bought a pickup to use!  It is grey, just like the Silver Fox, but it does not have a name yet!  We need a “name that truck” contest!

We needed a truck, so I now have a new Chevy.

A police officer was monitoring the highway when he saw a pickup truck going 20 miles below the speed limit.

The officer pulls behind the truck and pulls the truck over.

As he walked up to the driver, he noticed that the trunk bed was filled with penguins!  Doing as penguins would waddling around and such.

The officer goes to the truck driver and says, “You can’t be driving with all these penguins!  They gotta go the zoo!”

The truck driver apologizes and promises to head straight to the zoo.

The next day, the officer again sees the same truck going 20 below the speed limit!

The officer pulls the truck over.  As the officer walks up, he notices that the trunk is still filled with penguins, but this time they are all wearing sunglasses.

The officer is furious.  He tells the driver, “You think you can pull one over on me!  I told you to take the penguins to the zoo!”

The driver looks up and says, “I took them yesterday!  Today I’m taking them to the beach.”

One more day of forming, a day to check everything, and the cement will start flowing for the wall foundations.  It is getting exciting.  He will have to lay 160 feet of stone to complete course #1.  The first course has to be square and level; difficult to do with an eight-inch drop from front to back!

The yard is coming along.

The kitchen was quiet, so Mary decided to fix that problem.  I was in the office and heard the familiar clanking of pans, so I peeked in, and the counter was awash in veggies being meticulously sliced and diced.   She then prepared the pie crust and put a bunch of goodies into the blender, and it smelled delicious even before it was cooked.

A few weeks ago, I was working in the yard, and Mary called me saying, “Come on in for a quickie!”  I was excited.  When I arrived at the house and found out what she meant, I had to tell Mary, “Sweetheart, it’s pronounced Quiche.”

I am such a lousy cook that I use the smoke alarm as a timer.

After the gym, Mary hit the kitchen.

Into the oven it went, and the countdown began.  It was looking good!

A magnificent quiche.

It was out of the oven and ready to eat, but we had to go to the hair parlor.

Oh boy, I can hardly wait.

When I returned home (Mary stayed for a while), I got this photo of NJoe and the boys saying goodbye from their retreat.  They are a lovely family, and they are on their way back.  What did E.T.’s mother say to him when he got home?  “Where on Earth have you been?!”

Joe heads home today from the retreat!

After Mary’s hair appointment., we dined at the Greek restaurant next door.  Lamb chops were outstanding.    I always wondered,  if Mary gave birth to Jesus and Jesus is the lamb of God, then did Mary have a little lamb?

What’s the difference between a vegan and a computer programmer?  One is disgusted by a rack of lamb, and the other is disgusted by the lack of RAM.

After the hair salon, we dined in Greece this evening.

Arriving home, we grabbed some tomato pie and a slice of quiche and headed for Jan’s to pay her a quick visit.  We are glad we did as she was having a bad day.

We returned home after an hour’s visit.  We hit the swim spa and soaked for a good hour, watched the stars, and talked about life.

Mary mentioned that she has an issue with remembering passwords, so I told her my secret!

Works every time!

Posted in Just Us, Vegetable Garden | Comments Off on Tuesday And We Are Hard At Work! Awaiting Concrete!

The Week Starts Over! Foundation Boards Are Placed.

Posted on Monday, July 25, 2022 by Paul

Fact: The iconic stone heads protruding from the ground on Easter Island are familiar to most, but many don’t realize what lies beneath the surface. In the ’10s, archaeologists studying the hundreds of stone statues on the Pacific Island excavated two of the figures, revealing entire torsos, which measure as high as 33 feet.

Wow!

Mary is on patrol, checking to see if any varmints got into the tomatoes. It looks pretty good from my perch next to the firepit.

Man is the only kind of varmint that sets his own trap, baits it, then steps in it. – Author: John Steinbeck

First things first, inspect the garden! Looking for tracks! Perhaps a mountain lion, octopus, crocagator?

Scout knows something is out there because, at night, he sniffed the tomato plants and barked.

“M-m-m-m-m-m How did I miss whatever it was??”

Mid-morning, I got a text from Vicky, and it set me back a bit.

Look who I came across this morning when I met Brenda and her mother for breakfast. Yes, Vince and Nancy, and it was so lovely to talk to them. Vince looked around and asked me. “Well, where is Del? So I let them know as they did not know. Then when Brenda came in, they wanted to know where Sam was, and I had to tell them, and Vince was shocked. They both looked well.

Vince and Nancy.

We did some chores around the house, getting ready for the party. We visited Jan and then went to the market for supplies.

Upon returning, we inspected the progress, and there is still some serious forming to do before the concrete arrives.

We are making progress, albeit slow!

It’s my duty to visit Allrecipes.com and find us good things to eat. Mary can fix anything. Tonight is tomato pie night, and I must tell you it was WONDERFUL!!!

Mary has a new recipe.

I chopped onions and tomatoes while Mary got everything ready to go into the oven.

I sliced and diced the goodies.

The last step is a coating of cheese mixed with sour cream!

It looks like fun, and no wonder she is smiling.

We popped it into the oven and waited. We watched new releases of Virgin River while the stone did it work! Storyline: Seeking a fresh start, a nurse practitioner moves from Los Angeles to a remote Northern California town and is surprised by what — and who — she finds. We have been awaiting the fifth season. The fourth season was released on July 20, 2022.

The pie came out and had to sit for about 30 minutes before we tried it. I find myself being impatient because it smelled so good.

I remember once I tried an apple pie. Following a recipe, says I need: apples, five cubed. 125 sounds like a lot of apples for a pie!

Topped with cheese and baked for an hour.

The pie was finally cool enough to cut. I had a memory from years gone by. A slice of pie is $2.50 in the Bahamas. A slice of pie is $3 in Jamaica. Those are the pie rates of the Caribbean.

We both had two pieces; that was dinner tonight.

Dinner? Nope, pie! We are old (at least I am), so I can have dessert first! After dinner, we crashed as it was about 10:00 PM.

One final thought; I should not have turned on the nightly news!

Posted in Cooking, Just Us, Vegetable Garden | Comments Off on The Week Starts Over! Foundation Boards Are Placed.

Sunday And We Are In The Garden Again!

Posted on Sunday, July 24, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Broccoli contains more protein per calorie than steak, but it would take a LOT more broccoli to eat!

Project Manager…because Miracle Worker isn’t an official job title.

We are armed and ready to go!

Colleen hit the road as she is visiting her cousin in Arizona.  They met through Dave Mall, my second cousin.  She is also going to visit my late Uncle Chuck’s daughter.  The van will get another good run.

Cousins Chelsea and Colleen; they finally meet after almost half a century!

We hit the yard again, and it is now as perfect as it is going to be.  Under the flagpole was dry (it needs to be rototilled), so I went after the dirt with a four-pronged spade and turned the soil.  It was indeed thirsty.

As raindrops say, two’s company, three’s a cloud.

Oh, how true!

I ran the water for almost an hour, and the ground just kept drinking.  Remember, “Gardens are not made by singing ‘Oh, how beautiful,’ and sitting in the shade.” ~Rudyard Kipling

You better believe it!

The orange and avocado trees are doing quite well in the front yard.  The flowers are all drought tolerant and we have mulched them almost two inches.

The yard looks wonderful; all our neighbors comment on how it looks!

The new plumeria (in the four pots) are doing well and show start showing leaves within a week or two.

The front patio is one of the next projects.

Now to the backyard, we trek.  We planted watermelon, and I did some tree trimming around the base of the trees.   I had a friend who went to a Star Trek fancy dress party dressed as a tree. He was the Captain’s Log.

Dinner is served; we had zoodles again, and they were better this time.  They had overnight to soak in the sauce.  The sausages are treated with habaneros and had a slight fire to them.  We were going to have watermelon, but I had two helpings, and no room was available at the inn.

We made the zoodles with a spiralizer.

Did You know? Spiral vegetable slicers (also known as spiralizers) are kitchen appliances used for cutting vegetables, such as zucchinis (to make zoodles), potatoes, cucumbers, carrots, apples, parsnips, and beetroots, into linguine-like strands which can be used as an alternative to pasta.

Dinner was magnificent; Zoodles forever!

The are easy to make and even Colleen enjoyed them; no cards, yeah!

One minute in the microwave makes them soft and ready to use!

After dinner, we went to the Swim Spa for a good hour and talked.  We waved our glass of wine until after the spa so we could sit by the fire.

It was a wonderful day!

Just a thought!

Posted in Gardening | Comments Off on Sunday And We Are In The Garden Again!

Dang; Saturday Should Be A Day To Rest!

Posted on Saturday, July 23, 2022 by Paul

Fact: The word pineapple comes from European explorers who thought the fruit combined the look of a pinecone with flesh similar to an apple.  Pineapples are the only edible members of the bromeliad family.

Colleen, Mary, and I were up early and hit the firepit before 7:00 AM.  We solved the problems of the world.  Colleen worked on her computer, and Mary and I got into our grubbies and worked in the front yard for several hours.

Around 10:30 AM, Colleen went to visit her mother in La Mirada, so we did our errands!  The first stop was Home Depot to get flowers and other gardening supplies.

Time for more flowers.

If the English language made any sense, lackadaisical would have something to do with a shortage of flowers.

We needed sunflowers early this year, but they were unavailable until now, and now we have no room!!

Roses are red, violets are blue, I’m schizophrenic, and so am I.

The genus name “Agapanthus” is derived from two Greek words: “agape.” which means “love,” and “anthos,” which means “flower.” Taken together, the agapanthus is the flower of love.  It is sometimes also known as “African lily” and “lily of the Nile,”

Home Depot knows us well; we go all the time.  Mary is pushing cart number one; I had the heavy cart with the bags of red mulch.  We mulch almost every garden to keep the sun from drying out the dirt, especially in summer.

We are going shopping at our favorite store.

When we got home, we worked on the patio for almost four hours, but it looks nice now that we have all three supports to the patio covered with climbing vines.  Our patio has three posts, and only one had a climbing vine; that is not the case now!

Did you hear about one flower who went on a date with another flower?  It’s a budding romance.

Sitting down on the job is OK when you are gardening?

In the front yard, we put miniature morning glories on either side of the walkway, and they should get pretty tall.  We had lights on the posts, but they stopped working.  Our security lights will take the place of the lamps.

Did You Know?  Ancient Mesoamerican civilizations used the morning glory species Ipomoea alba to convert the latex from the Castilla elastica tree and also the guayule plant to produce bouncing rubber balls.  The sulfur in the morning glory’s juice served to vulcanize the rubber, a process antedating Charles Goodyear’s discovery by at least 3,000 years.  Aztec priests in Mexico were also known to use the plant’s hallucinogenic properties.

I named all my children after flowers.  There’s Colleen and Robin and my son, Artificial.

Now we stand up!

The trellis is firmly attached to the post, and the plant can grow as tall as it likes.

The new trellis looks excellent!

All in all, it was a beautiful day.  We worked about six hours in the garden and by the time dinner got here, it was time to go to the spa.  Colleen was with us; we taught her how to make zoodles, noodles made from zucchini!  Mary whipped up a sauce, and we had dinner.  The meal was fantastic; I went for seconds!

Hibiscus gone wild!

After dinner, we went into the Swim Spa and the aches and pains of the day disappeared.

Posted in Gardening, Just Us, Working Around House | Comments Off on Dang; Saturday Should Be A Day To Rest!

Friday And We Are Off Again! Water Pipes Moved.

Posted on Friday, July 22, 2022 by Paul

Fact: In 1962, Traffic Commissioner Henry Barnes instituted a short-lived traffic management system requiring cars to stop at cross-streets and intersections to allow pedestrians to cross diagonally from corner to corner.  The ensuing confusion was called by some critics the “Barnes Dance.” Others insisted that the name resulted from the joy felt by newly-safe walkers who danced in the streets.

Listening to the morning news makes one think about how stupid society has become.  Between the morons trying to run the country and the average person, we is in a lot of trouble!

Isn’t it the truth!

We were up with the chickens and had coffee on the patio with Colleen, and the firepit kept us nice and warm.  We all did a walk-through inspection of the garden; what a mess.  The forms are going in now, and we can see things are taking shape.   By the end of next week, we may be pouring concrete.

We did the morning inspection.

Our gardener is coming Friday to finalize the placement of the water lines.  We will have faucets and control valves in every segment of the new garden, giving us many options.

The watering system is ready to be connected.

We cleaned up and headed to Los Alamitos to see another doctor at 10:00 AM.  He offered us three actions to take, and we are now considering them.

From the doctor’s office, we headed to Banning, which was 90 minutes away from Long Beach.  We visited Annie, but Virgil was asleep most of the time.  Annie is not doing well, but at 96 years of age, her mind is still running well.  We stayed about thirty minutes before returning home for the next activity.

We picked up Colleen and headed to The Nail Store so the girls could have a pedicure.  I asked them, “Why couldn’t the cow get a pedicure?” They had no clue, silly girls.  So, I told them the answer:  Because they lactose.

What do you call someone obsessed with procuring free pedicures?  A clip-toe-maniac.

The girls enjoy this activity a lot.

OK, the truth comes out!  I joined them and just wanted to be one of the girls!

The operator looked at my feet and ran out the back door screaming!

Our feet were happy after the visit!

We were all hungry, so we stopped at Ace’s Bar & Gille on Chapman and had dinner.  The meal was pretty good; Mary did the steak salad, I tried the steak sandwich, and Colleen did the chicken sandwich.  We also polished off a plate of stuffed jalapenos.

From there, we went to Home Depot and got pots for the new plumeria that Ed gave us Wednesday.

We then ran by Jan’s and visited for an hour.  We enjoyed a glass of wine and caught up on everything.  Finally, we aimed the Grey Ghost (the Honda can) home and sat and talked for a while.  Colleen is still on east coast time, so she crashed; Mary and I went to the Swim Spa before visiting the Sandman.

Posted in Doctor, Friends, Gardening, Vegetable Garden | Comments Off on Friday And We Are Off Again! Water Pipes Moved.

Colleen Arrives!

Posted on Thursday, July 21, 2022 by Paul

Fact: The human body is pretty weird.  The small intestine measures 20 ft long and 1″ in diameter, whereas the large intestine is 5 ft long and 3″ in diameter.  Essentially, the small intestine is larger than the large intestine.

OK.  First things first!  We got up early and headed to the gym for our 8:00 AM appointment.  We both worked out for 45 minutes on all sorts of strange machines.  Fitness: Everyone would have a great body if it came in a bottle.

“Let’s have a moment of silence for all those Americans stuck in traffic on their way to the gym to ride the stationary bicycle.”

Mary is working out!

We returned home from the gym, fed the baby, did some chores, and collected some of last night’s meal for Jan.  We did a quick fly-by at Jan’s, staying only about fifteen minutes before turning our attention to the Santa Ana Elks.

Colleen came in at about 12:30 PM, and Teri picked her up from the airport.  We invited Teri to join us for lunch before her next ride.  It was good seeing her again!

Teri came in and joined us at Girls Night Out.

Gail joined us this lunchtime which is always delightful.

Gail was there to add to the festivities.

We went to the local Deli/Bakery called Rockwell’s from the Elks, and the girls selected the cakes for the upcoming party!  We also stopped and did some shopping so Colleen could have her milk.

Mary and Colleen picked out their cakes for the party!

Party planning is over; now to more serious things.  We went to see Dr. Rucker, and I am going to get to do two more pulmonary tests to try and see what is going on.

Listening to Dr. Rucker.

After the news, we headed home and freshened up before going to Chino to celebrate Bad Mike’s birthday and dance for a few hours.

Bridgette, Mike, and B Bridgette’s granddaughter.

Mary and I got Mike a new bag of “Gentlemens Depends” plus some enhancement pills.  We all had a good laugh.

I thought of this oldie and had to share!

A parrot swallows a Viagra tablet.  His owner, disgusted, puts him in the freezer to cool off.  Later, when he opens the freezer, he finds the parrot sweating.  “How come you are sweating?” he asks.  The parrot replies, “Do you know how hard it is to open the legs of a frozen chicken?”

Mike shows off his new undies.

Time to dance1

The costume is complete, so we are waiting for Mike to give us a show.  I think we may be waiting a long time.

Awash with gifts from his friends.

We sang Happy Birthday, but fortunately, we did it without candles.

Go ahead there, Windy!

We headed home at 9:00 PM as it was a long week already, and tomorrow will be no different.

Posted in Family, Friends | Comments Off on Colleen Arrives!

Meal Prep!

Posted on Wednesday, July 20, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Pistachios are a “drupe,” a fleshy tree fruit containing a shell-covered seed.

While the girls were cleaning the house, we went shopping for last minutes supplies for tonight’s dinner.  Since we were close to Jan’s house, we stopped by and delivered a case of vino!

We did a “Fly By” for Jan.

We worked all afternoon getting ready for dinner.  We worked slow because we also watched the latest Jurrasic Park movie.

For dinner, we had stuffed zucchini, corn on the cob, fruit salad, and strawberry cheesecake.

Did You Know? Corn is an ingredient in more than 3,500 grocery products. • One bushel of corn can make 33 pounds of sweetener, 32 pounds of starch, or 2 1/2 gallons of ethanol fuel. • Corn is the 3rd most important food crop of the world measured by production volume, behind wheat and rice.

We had a wonderful evening, and I was so happy that we selected a good Cab for Betty and Ed.  Mary and I are partial to $2.00 Chuck!

Betty & Ed joined us for dinner.

Ed and David talked about growing up with cars and racing.  I sat back and enjoyed the vanter back and forth.  These small dinner parties are a load of fun!

David regaled us with stories of yesteryear.

Everybody headed home about 9:30 PM and we cleaned up and crashed.

Posted in Cooking, Friends | Comments Off on Meal Prep!