Friday Has Arrived!

Posted on Friday, May 20, 2022 by Paul

Fact: In the U.K. and Australia, Friday is sometimes referred to by the acronym “POETS Day,” which stands for “Piss Off Early Tomorrow’s Saturday.”

Scout looked a bit guilty when he came to the side of the bed and asked to go outside.  We went about our morning business, and after being in the yard for a while, we came inside.

We cannot figure out what he has done!

I got an email out of the blue this morning, and it turns out that some of the people I graduated with in high school back 60 years ago or having an informal reunion the first week of June.  I sent the invite to Lee, my high school girlfriend, and got a reply that she plans to go.  I offered to have Lee come over to our house, and the three of us would go together just like we did ten years ago at the 50th reunion.  It will be fun to see a few of the old people from the class of 1962.

60 Years?  OMG!  I am older than dirt!

We went to a furrier in Tustin to see about storing some of Mary’s furs, and then we went to TJ’s to update our stock of vino!  After that, we did a fly-by at Jan’s to drop off some wine before heading west to my doctor’s office.

We got there a little early, so we stopped by Imperial Jewelers and did some birthday shopping.  Success, I made some excellent choices for Mary’s birthday!  We headed to The Fish Company, which was across the street from Imperial.  We had a bottle of vino and some clam chowder.  On the way out, we ordered a dozen oysters to feed the famous Los Almalitos Oyster Monster (LOAM).  LOAM was home so we did a fly-by.  We had to leave fast because the local schools were about to get out and that means traffic jam for thirty minutes.

We called the LOAM later on in the evening to check up on her.

Off to the doctor at 2:30 PM, we were on our way home by 3:15 PM.  We needed to get home because Robin was coming by for dinner this evening.

We went to the local Chinese restaurant, Yang Ming, which in Chinese means, “Do NOT look at your bathroom scale in the morning; wait three days!”

Otherwise known as “The Calorie Castle.”

Returning home, we had a glass of wine before putting Robin on the road to her home.  We attempted to watch a movie, but the sandman came to visit us early this evening.

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Busy Days Seem To Come More Often!

Posted on Friday, May 20, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Strange, but true: Elk can count to 10.  How do we know?  Scientists have noticed that when a female elk is presented with the choice between a mate with nine antler points and ten antler points, she’ll almost always select the bull with 10 points.  She’spaying attention!

We got up a little early today, and Mary’s friend Maxine had the right idea!  We hit the sack about 9:00 PM last night so getting up at 5:30 AM is not too bad for older people!

While working in the office, I went through the Fox News website and read some articles.  This cartoon pretty much sums it up about D.C.  We are in trouble, serious trouble!

Lastest, Harris quote: “We will work together, and continue to work together, to address these issues, to tackle these challenges, and to work together as we continue to work operating from the new norms, rules, and agreements, that we will convene to work together…We will work together”.

We worked in the office until it was time to clean up and go to “Girls Night out”  Well, it was 10:00 AM, and Mary popped in and said, “Let’s go!”.  I thought it was a bit early, but I figured we had some errands to run that I was unaware of.

As we are zip-bopping down the 55, Mary turns to me and says, “It’s only 10:30; why are we going so early?” I had no reply other than the standard, “Yes, Dear!” which did not answer the question.

We got t the Lodge a wee bit early.  I suggested we have an appetizer and then Mary reminded me of my weight!

I thought to myself, 200 lbs here on Earth is 89.5 lbs on Mercury.  No, I’m not fat; I’m not on the right planet.

We passed the time drinking coffee before everyone else showed up.

Everyone loved the flowers (Gladiolas)

Did You Know?  The gladiolus not only has roots in the ground but also in ancient history.  Named for their shape and appearance, the term gladiolus stems from the diminutive form of gladius, which means sword in Latin.  Translated literally, gladiolus is a little sword.  Gladioli have also been called xiphium, which comes from the Greek word, xiphios, which also means sword.  In addition to the name gladiolus, the flowers have been referred to as sword or corn lilies.

The and began showing up around 11:30 AM.  Mike and Linda came back later in the afternoon on Sunday, and they saw their moon disappear and DID NOT TAKE A CAMERA!!!

Mary and I looked for the eclipse, but we were in the Swim Spa, and the moon was in the trees just behind us; we missed the event.

Avalon Ball stories are retold.

George came in a little later and asked about Colleen (our daughter).  They are good friends.  I mentioned Colleen and Mark were on a road trip to Indiana, so that is why there are no emails from Colleen.

He is in trouble; we got dessert for Beverly.

This table has two Oyster Monsters sitting at it.  Who are they?  If they sit next to you and you order oysters, watch out.  I told them, “My “et oyster used to be shy, then one day he came out of his shell!”

Di” You Know?  An oyster can filter 1.3 gallons of water per hour.  Oysters filter water through their gills and consume food, like plankton, in the process.  Oysters can maintain the balance of a marine ecosystem by reducing excess algae and sediment that can lead to hypoxia, or low oxygen levels, causing other marine life to die.  The oyster population of Chesapeake Bay used to filter the entire water volume of the bay in just three days.

Which two ladies are the “Oyster Queens?”

We departed around 1:30 PM and went to Jan’shouse because we brought her some salmon which was perfectly done; the Elks Lodge chef is a master!

After visiting with Jan, we came home and rested a bit since Mary decided not to go to a conference this evening; it turned out the meeting could not be used for CME (Continuing Medical Education) credits.

We had dinner and then went into the Swim Spa for a good hour to soak tired old bodies.

We watched a little TV while eating dinner (the roll-around TV was a wonderful idea!!)

I decided this evening I am not an early bird or a night owl, and I am some form of a permanently exhausted pigeon.

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The Week Is Half Gone; So Are We!

Posted on Wednesday, May 18, 2022 by Paul

Fact: According to a survey, bosses are most receptive to requests from their employees on a Wednesday.  So if you’re going to ask for a pay rise or a holiday, make sure you do it on a Wednesday.

Gaining courage after today’s fact, I will ask Mary for a pay raise!  I hope that I see the sunset!

Poor Scout has been biting himself, so it is off to the vet.  We came home with a $1000+ bill and a new “cone of shame.”  He went next door to visit his friend.

The Postman does not have a chance now!

While Scout was getting care, we went to downtown Orange, the circle, and had brunch

Bruch was delicious!!!

At 1:00 PM, we headed to Banning to visit Annie and Virgil.  We took the rocket, Precious, as she needed to run and get charged up.  It was an hour’s drive, and we had a great visit.  They live on a golf course, and we got visitors.

The babies were out in full force!

Why do ducks make great detectives? They always quack the case.

After getting near home, we stopped at Ralph’s and got the ingredients for more bean soup.  The one from yesterday is long gone!

We watched two movies as we prepared and ate dinner.  First, it was “Death In Paradise.”  Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise is a 2006 American made-for-television crime film directed by Robert Harmon and starring Tom Selleck, Viola Davis, and Kohl Sudduth.  Based on the 2001 novel Death in Paradise by Robert B. Parker, the film is about a small-town police chief and struggling alcoholic who investigates the murder of a teenage girl whose body is found floating in a lake.  The case brings the former LAPD homicide detective into the affluent world of a bestselling writer who exploits troubled teens and the violent world of a Boston mobster.  Filmed on location in Nova Scotia,[2] the story is set in the fictitious town of Paradise, Massachusetts.  Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise is the third in a series of nine television films based on Parker’s Jesse Stone novels.  The film first aired on the CBS television network on April 30, 2006.

What do you call a crocodile that is a detective? An investi-gator.

Then we watched “Sea Change.”  Jesse Stone: Sea Change is a 2007 American made-for-television crime drama film directed by Robert Harmon and starring Tom Selleck, Kathy Baker, and Kohl Sudduth.  Based on the 2006 novel Sea Change by Robert B. Parker, the film is about the police chief of a small New England town who investigates the unsolved murder of a bank teller shot during a robbery and an alleged rape that draws him into conflict with the town council.  It hopes to preserve the town’s reputation as an ideal seaside resort.  Filmed on location in Nova Scotia, the story is set in the fictitious town of Paradise, Massachusetts.  Jesse Stone: Sea Change is the fourth in a series of nine television films based on Parker’s Jesse Stone novels.

We finally crashed as we had to be at the gym at 8:15 AM.  One last stroll around the backyard was required.

Time to lock up and go to bed!

Good night all!

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Ouch! That Hurt!

Posted on Tuesday, May 17, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Christmas day is the most common day of the year for heart attacks to happen.

We beat the roosters up this fine morning as Paul had to be at the cardiologists office at 8:00 AM in Los Alamitos.  He went for a “nuclear stress test”.  A nuclear stress test uses a small amount of radioactive material (tracer) and an imaging machine to create pictures showing the blood flow to your heart. The test measures blood flow while you are at rest and during activity, showing areas with poor blood flow or damage in your heart.

Monday we get the results!

We were there for three hours and departed about 11:00 AM and headed home.  I took a quick nap and so did Mary; 5:00 AM is too early for us anymore.

We did manage to go to the gym in the afternoon and then do some errands including the UPS Store and Post Office.

The chemicals they put into me made me “sick” or should I say hungry?  I told Mary that the doctor suggested a hamburger after the procedure should I feel sick.  In An Out, here we come.

It reminded me of the time Mary and I stayed at an Elvis-themed hotel. The burgers in the restaurant were for people who Love Meat Tender.

Mary also served up some of her famous bean soup that she had in the slow cooker all day; it was out of this world delicious.  I had three bowls before I stopped.

We came home and watched another Tom Selleck movie before crashing.   This was a TV movie series about him, as Jessie Stone,  being a sheriff in a small New England town.

Tom Selleck does a magnificent job!!

Our TV viewing is not set for a week!

We crashed about 9:00 PM and I was out like a light not waking until about 2:30 AM.

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Home From The Wars; Masonry Is Delivered!

Posted on Monday, May 16, 2022 by Paul

Fact: 97% of Galapagos Island is declared a National Park because of its scientific significance, and these areas are uninhabited. The rest of the island has a population of about 25,000.

We awoke to the sounds of the city, no macaws or other exotic birds!  We are missing Catalina already!

Scout was up and happy to see us.  He told us about the latest app he has for his iPhone!

No more iPhone apps for Scout

But at 9:00 AM came a different sound, a diesel truck!  Our supplies for part of the new garden arrived and were put on the driveway!

Three hundred linear feet of brick for the low walls surrounding the beds!

When it is done, it will look like the Los Alamitos house!

Here it comes!

The neighbors came out to see what all the noise was about.  We told them about the new vegetable garden, which will be about 1200 square feet in the south part of our back yard.

For the rest of the day, we did wash and put up the clothes!  We were pooped.  We decided to go to Ace’s Bar and Grill for lunch, and we had a steak salad and a glass of wine.

We went to a furrier to find out about storing furs.  Then it was off to Jan’s house, where we shared stories about Avalon this past weekend.

When we got home, we matched another Tom Selleck movie called. Wyoming, 1892: Monte’s been a cowboy for ranchers all his life, but he’s no longer young, and big business is taking over the ranches.

While the movie was on, Mary fixed lunch for us tomorrow since I have a nuclear stress test planned and part of the test requires me to eat some fatting foods; I see a ham and cheese sandwich in my future.

After the movie, we crashed.  We have to be up at 5:00 AM to make it to Los Alamitos at 7:45 AM.

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Coming Home After An Amazing Weekend!

Posted on Sunday, May 15, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Greenland is the world’s largest island, located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The total area of Greenland is 2,166,086 square kilometers (836,330 square miles). It is around 2,650 kilometers (1,650 miles) long (north-south) and up to 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) wide (east-west). Greenland is a continental island composed of the same materials as the adjacent North American continent, from which it is separated by a shallow and narrow sea.

See the details.

We were up early to get a Starbucks to drink while we packed. As I peeked out the door, I was met with a wet blanket of channel fog!

It was foggy outside!

The pier was almost gone; it reminded me of an Alfred Hitchcock horror movie!

We hope the boat does not get lost!

Mary stopped for a glamor shot next to the harbor seal.

Did You Know? Old Ben was an enormous and friendly sea lion who first appeared in the Avalon harbor in 1898. He quickly became the town mooch, flopping through the streets, looking for fish snacks, and posing with Santa Catalina tourists for snapshots. He even appeared in a 1914 movie, “The Sea Nymphs,” before swimming off and disappearing in the early 1920s.

Avalon never forgot its flippery town pet, and in 1975 it erected a life-size concrete statue of Old Ben as its Bicentennial project — a statue reportedly so lifelike that real seals would bark at it. That statue was replaced by an identical one made of bronze in 1986, and in 2009 it was moved from its spot on the end of a pier to a more shutterbug-friendly downtown location.

 

A new statue was added to the square.

Off to the dock, where we continued our non-stop cavorting. The Ash’s are staying until 6:00 PM to catch some rays!

Come on the boat; we need to go home.

On the way home, we restuffed ourselves and then decided to go to Old Ranch for lunch! The lunch was great, and then it was home.   We surprised Irene, who was house and dog sitting, and Irene thought we were coming on Monday!

We found a glass of vino and then hit the Swim Spa for a good hour to get the kinks out of our backs from hauling the suitcases.

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Posted on Saturday, May 14, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Avalon’s golf course was first built in 1892, making it the oldest course in southern California.

We were up and moving at 0-dark:30 AM because we had to have breakfast and then played nine holes of golf.

Mary was up and ready to golf, but she had forgotten her proper golf dress. This picture is a 2014 photo taken in Catalina at the Avalon Ball weekend.

No, Mary, we are playing gold first!

We headed to the Sand Trap, a gourmet restaurant located just below the men’s first hole tees.

A fine dining experience!

To the links, and Mary remembered how to swing the club!

See the details!

Wack that sucker!

She scared the heck out of the squirrels; they ran and hid in the trees when they saw her coming.  Little did they know the trees were not a safe space.

“I am a protected species!”

We did not see any of these little critters, and we were happy we didn’t/  Although, I would like to have a rattlesnake belt!

Springtime and the rattlesnakes are frisky these days!

Off to the Bluewater Grill for dinner.  We had great seats on the pier/patio and could watch the boats come and go!

See the details!

Bob and Donna are looking good!

Dr. Mary and Paul dressed for the 9’s.  We had a wonderful dinner with the Zaitz and Ash’s.  I tried to order ousters, but there was an “oyster monster” at the table!

A handsome couple indeed!

Mike and Linda made the dinner entertaining.  I love Mike’s jacket, and, surprisingly, it fits since he got it off a drunk living under a bridge on Beach Blvd.

Linda & Mike

We enjoyed all the silliness and friendship!  Great times!

Dinner at The Bluewater Inn on Avalon Harbor

Top hat and tails, dressed to the 9’s.

On the way to the ball!

We followed up and walked the mile to the Casino.

A handsome sight indeed!

We danced for hours, making it around the room many times and watching the other period dress people.  It was a fantastic evening.

Simply great fun!

After the dance, we took a cab home to the hotel and quickly stopped at Luau Larry’s for a nightcap!

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WeeBee Off To The Island!

Posted on Friday, May 13, 2022 by Paul

Fact: In 2013, Google sent a lone employee to map the abandoned Hashima Island in Japan, which was once the most densely populated place on Earth. 

Yes, children, it is that time of the year that all dancers must return to the happy dancing ground called the Avalon Ball.  This trip was our 14th year of going to the Avalon Ball, but it was a little different this time. The Ball was not held in 2020 or 2020 because of the Covid virus.  Mary had gone over for years, so it was a slight adjustment to go with each other. With the help of Bob and Donna, we managed pretty well. We went over with the Zahn’s, and later in the day, the Ashes joined us.

See the details!

Memories from previous dances are often fun. One morning, years ago, after Bob and I had had perhaps a little drinky poo too much we woke up covered in dark red paint and left on an island. We had been marooned.

I promised

I did promise!

We arrived in Long Beach at about 12:30 PM and waited for the ship to arrive. We got on the boat at 1:30 PM, and Donna and Mary ran upstairs and saved us a table. We had a lot of snacks to go through and John Brado 5 pounds of jumbo shrimp. We were stuffed before we got off the boat.

Donna, Bob, and John

Mary kept reaching into her little blue bag, pulling out more and more food. We had salad, strawberries, blueberries, just oodles of stuff.  We could’ve got stuck at sea and not gone starving for at least a week.

Allyson, Mary nad Moi

Our stewardess on the boat was very, very nice and took pictures of it and laughed because we teased her the entire time.

What did the stewardess say to the vulture when he boarded the ship with two bags? Only one Carrion is permitted on this flight.

Jumbo shrimp, wine, veggies, oh my!

Tonight is the first time we have stayed at the Pavilion Hotel, which is right in the heart of Front Street. The nice thing about it is it’s next to Luau Larry’s, which means it’s crawling distance back to the room.

It had a nice view of the Wrigley Mansion.

We headed to the patio to make sure we got Howard up with a glass of wine. Unfortunately, Bob’s red glass of wine took a dump; it was our waitress who accidentally hit it with her arm. The wine spilled all over the table, and it was terrible seeing a grown man cry.

Oops! Spilled the wine!

Bob learned how to save the day. You could hear the sucking sound for two blocks, but he got all the wine except for three drops that hit the floor. We grabbed him before he got his hands and knees and tried to get the last drops.

Bob to the rescue!

Welcome, Jon and Allison; they were neighbors of mine over in Los Alamitos. John is a pool contractor, and Allison just retired from being a dentist, so now they are having fun.

John and Allyson’s first time over to the Avalon Ball.

We went to dinner at Steve’s Steakhouse, and it was an exciting experience. The wine was flowing; martinis were flowing, and everything was flowing.   Now I think about it; I was also flowing! We had great steaks and managed to go down the stairs and make it to Luau Larry’s for a short visit.

When the red lights flashed, we stepped to the side, and the kind officers came over to welcome us to the island. We weren’t in trouble, nor were we inebriated; we’re just an honest, friendly group.

They asked if we needed an escort to our hotel (which was 8 feet away(

We hit the sack around 11 PM because we needed to rest for tomorrow’s golf and the dance.

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Mostly All Better!

Posted on Thursday, May 12, 2022 by Paul

Fact: A woodpecker’s tongue actually wraps all the way around its brain, protecting it from damage when it’s hammering into a tree.

Getting out of bed was laborious as I did NOT want to re-sprain the back muscles.  It worked as I felt pretty good.  We went to the gym at 8:15 AM and I did about half of the exercises; the rest of the time I was on the ice, literally!

From the gym we sped off home to get the baby, he is getting groomed for his babysitter, Irene.  After dropping Scout off, we high-tailed it to Long  Beach to have my stitches taken out and then to Girls Night Out at the Santa Ana Elks.

George was in rare form today!

We had a great time and I inhaled at 15 oz ribeye which was terrific.  I shared it with Dr. Mary and she gave me some of her Atlantic Cod.

Sydney brought the folks with her.

Sydney and Bob were out entertainment for the afternoon!

Bob amd Sydney, you can’t take your eyes off of them!

On the way home from the Elks picked up Scout and then went to Aces Bar and Grill for a quick glass of vino and to see what Scout would do inside a new place; he was terrific as usual!

We will miss him!

Returning home, I rested to make sure my back would be OK for the dancing weekend.  Robin popped by and stayed with us.

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Ouch!

Posted on Wednesday, May 11, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Back strains and sprains are the most common cause of back pain. You can injure muscles, tendons or ligaments by lifting something too heavy or not lifting safely. Some people strain their back by sneezing, coughing, twisting or bending over.

It was Mary’s turn yesterday and my turn today!  When I got up my back decided to give out and I went plop!  This happens every once in a while so IO decided to do nada today.  We just sat around the house.   In fact, I did not even take a picture.

Dr. Mary tried one of her remedies!

It worked!

We watched TV and selected Tom Selleck to be our “Star of the Day”.  He made some funny movies.

We crashed early and my back was doing a lot better!

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Happy Anniversary!

Posted on Tuesday, May 10, 2022 by Paul

Fact: We got the keys to our new home one year ago today!

One year ago today, my real estate agent met us at the front door and said, “these are the keys to the rest of your life.” Since then, I’ve been busy turning the house into a home, and I think we’ve done a pretty good job.

One year ago today!

We use the pool whenever we can. It takes about 24 hours to raise the pool temperature from ambient to 85°. We had it on for Mother’s Day Sunday and left it on for friends to visit with us on Monday. Dumb old me left it on after that because this morning it was over 90°. Time to swim!

We went swimming in the 90-degree pool!

We’re going to spend some time comparing shots from the day we moved in to now, but just as an example, here is a view from the hallway looking towards the kitchen before and after.

Before!

I forgot to turn on the lights or use a flash camera!

After

This is a view from the front door looking through the living room/TV room, family room, and patio.

Staged houses look bare!

After a year, it is home!

The backyard now has flowers and vegetables everywhere.

We have plants all over.

Late in the afternoon, we were doing some gardening when I heard Mary yell, “help!” I ran into the house, and Mary had fallen in the bathroom while changing clothes. She banged up her knee pretty badly, so she spent the rest of the afternoon horizontal watching TV.

We canceled our gym appointment because of the accident.

She was doing much better by later in the evening.

We stayed up until 10:00 PM watching Tom Selleck movies!

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Monday Is Here And We Are Off And Running!

Posted on Monday, May 9, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Vegetables Can Make You Tan! Eating veggies has plenty of health benefits, but it also has cosmetic ones,  according to researchers  at Leeds University and the University at St. Andrews. They found that those who consumed vegetables with high levels of red and yellow pigments had a healthy yellow glow compared to those who did not. This is due to a process called “carotenoid colorization.”

Scout told me this morning about his visit to the new doggie neighbor.  The new dog was not in his yard but Scout was a little scared when he saw his water bowl!

That is one big pooch!

Bright and early I rocketed to Los Alamitos to get a blood test.  The traffic was lighter than expected so I was able to return to Casa Valencia by 10:30 AM.  As I was leaving his office, I felt like I was being watched,

My doctor has a sense of humor

Bonnie and the kids came over to go swimming.   We had lunch and visited with Bonnie until about 3:00 PM.  The pool was warm and the kids really enjoyed swimming even though the outside temperature was in the low 70s.

The water was 86 degrees!

Time to eat!  The kids really chowed down which means they will sleep on the way home!

Lunch time!

I took a walk through the garden and spotted many tomatoes!

We walked the garden!

Around 4:00 PM Mary went to the kitchen and made Capaletti Alfredo with chicken.  It was so good I stuff myself.  We had some remaining so we went to Jan’s for a glass of wine.

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Mother’s Day Has Arrived!

Posted on Sunday, May 8, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Nothing is really lost until your mom can’t find it.

The day was gloriously chilly with a bit of wind, but we knew that all would be normal by afternoon.  The pool was steaming, and when Mary and I went to inspect yesterday’s plantings, the temperature was 86 degrees.

Today we got ready to go to the Santa Ana Elks to celebrate with family and friends.  This is Mary and my second Mother’s Day, and Mary was excited.  We departed for the Elks at about 9:40 AM since it is a short distance away.  Scout stopped Mommy and questioned her about her outfit!

Scout, The Wonder Dog, does have his opinions!

We departed as soon as Mary changed clothes to an “Approved By Scout” version!

We arrived right on time and were greeted with champaign.

Happy Mother’s Day! Yes, it’s today. How fast can you glue macaroni into a bracelet?

Welcome To The Elks!

We plan to have 24 people show up today, but unfortunately, Zack and  Becca had to cancel at the last minute. So we have plenty of food at our table.

They set our table as soon as we got there!

We even had a chance to get a picture of ourselves, an event that doesn’t happen very often because we are usually the picture takers.

Mary told the kids on Mother’s Day she wanted to be pampered – so they bought her some diapers.

Just us!

Mary whispered, “It’s not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it.”

David joined the fun today, and we were pleasantly surprised!

David was up and dressed before 10 AM; it was magic!

There was more food than you can shake a stick at, and I was a good boy today and only went to the line one time. Some of the guys went through twice, and with the grandsons, we lost count.

We love the kids enjoying each other.

Charlie and Joel made it to the lines at least twice, and in fact, about three hours later, when Joe was at our home, we offered him something to eat, and he made the sign of the cross, saying he was absolutely stuffed.

If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?

Grandson Charlie and son Joe

Mary is in her usual sitting position at girls’ night out, holding court over the gaggle of people, and has a perfect view of who is behaving and who is not.

Let’s eat!

Amy and Alex had a good time, and you can tell Alex is wearing his braces because he won’t smile.

I did hear Amy say, “Over the years, I learned that motherhood is much like an austere religious order, the joining of which obligates one to relinquish all claims to personal possessions.”

Amy & Alex

Here are three of our ten mommies this morning; Michele, Robin, and Amy.  I did hear the girls say to each other, “Mothers with teenagers know why animals eat their young.”

Daughters Michele, Robin, and Amy

Watch out for these two because you don’t know what will happen when they get together.

Robin and Mary, standard pose!

The Elks decided not to take apart our table and told us we could stay as long as we wanted to, so the boys headed over to the Green Room with a head billiards and other games set up. I was pretty proud of them because, on the way out, I talked to one of the executives running the Elks and mentioned there were four young boys in their game room. He said, “I know. I checked on them, and they are very well behaved”. Of course, I told him that the four young men were all my grandson.

The grandsons went to play billiards!

After we departed the Elks, at roughly about 1 o’clock, Joe and Family headed to our house because I had the pool heated to 85°, and the boys went swimming.

The Liles family after swimming.

After swimming in the big pool, they decided to gravitate up to the swim spa, which was 95°. The afternoon was fantastic, probably 70 or 72°, so moving into the swim spa was good.

Ten more minutes, and they will be hard-boiled!

We talked to Colleen for a while.  She had some excellent advice, “I want my children to have everything I couldn’t afford. Then I want to move in with them.”

Hello Colleen

We visited Jan and her family for a few minutes before returning home.  We were dead tired.

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Saturday Was A Work Day!

Posted on Saturday, May 7, 2022 by Paul

Fact: You can gain calories by licking stamps. Licking one stamp makes you consume 1/10 of a calorie; if you were to lick 3000 stamps a day, that would equate to about 16 chicken nuggets from McDonald’s.

The office was humming with us, working on bills and puzzles, and my fingers were typing hard to get the Avalon Ball website back into shape.  It looks pretty good now, and I even found some of the Avalon Ball comics from years ago.

I make comics out of some of our adventures.

We went to the hair parlor at 10:00 AM, and I got my ears lowered a notch so I looked presentable.  By 10:21 AM, I was out of there and sent home to begin planting.  On the way out, I saw an advertisement saying, “Hairpieces from $5”. I thought, “That’s a small price toupee.”

Mary stayed another three hours so she would continue to look beautiful.  She timed it so that the heavy work would be done.  She was ready at noon, but  Mary was starved.  We decided to stop by Ace’s Bar and Grill.  Their house salads with steak are lovely!  We had a glass of wine and then went home.

Then we went to work planting two flats of veggies and flowers.  We have all fresh parsley, and I adjusted the drip lines to do a better job in the containers.  We worked until it was beginning to get dark, and then it was time to swim!

We are quite coordinated when we go planting!

Planting made easy!

The kids are coming over tomorrow, so I heated the pool to 85 degrees.  Mary and I swam for about 40 minutes before retiring to the swim spa, where we soaked for an hour and talked.

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Friday Was Calm!

Posted on Friday, May 6, 2022 by Paul

Fact:  A plant that consumes rats can be found in the Philippines. Scientists discovered this rat-eating pitcher plant in the Philippines in the year 2009. This newly discovered pitcher plant is considered one of the biggest carnivorous plants on the planet.

Scout The Wonder Dog came home late last night after going to a horror movie.  He was kind and did not wake Mommy and Daddy up but sure at 6:00 AM came, he jumped on the bead and told us of the scary movie!

He was shaking it was so scary!

By 11:00 AM we were on the road to Banning to visit Annie and Virgil.  Annie’s 96th birthday is coming soon and we wanted to drop off a Mother’s Day gift and some other goodies we know they like!

We only stayed about 45 minutes and then hit the road back home.  The traffic was not too bad!  We did see an accident.  Two cheese trucks ran into each other. De brie was everywhere.

I didn’t realize how bad of a driver I was until my satellite navigation system said, “In 400 feet, do a slight right, stop, and let me out.”

For the rest of the day we relaxed and did chores around the house!  We located the plants which we have to put into the ground tomorrow.  Other than that, it was a very quiet day!

In the late afternoon, we went to Jan’s for a glass of wine and a visit.  Jan is our favorite.

We visited Jan!

Returning home, we went into the Swim Spa and soaked up the 95 degree heat.

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Cinco De Mayo! Where Is My Margarita?

Posted on Thursday, May 5, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Rainbows at night exist. These rainbows are called moonbows, and they only occur when there is a source of water near a full moon. If the moon is in any other phase, the light will not be enough to cause a moonbow.

Happy Cinco de Mayo to all of you and may you have a delightful Mexican meal sometime during this fine day. I learned a new Mexican word this morning.

We got an email late in the day that said my surgeon had an opening at 8:00 AM today.  He is located in Long Beach, so we had to get up at 5:00 AM and be on the freeway at 7:00 AM or be in traffic for hours.  We made it to his office in 30 minutes.

The procedure was fairly simple but it takes about 40 minutes for them to do a detailed biopsy to make sure what they cut out got everything. We were out of his office by around 9:30 AM.

We stopped by Home Depot on the way home to get three new propane tanks so we wouldn’t run out tonight while we were making dinner.

Scout wanted some advice as he is going on a trip to Oregon shortly.  He was devastated when we said we might drive!

 

At 11:30 AM, we headed to the Santa Ana Elks for our weekly Girls Night Out with the gang.  We had a load of fun just talking about stuff.

Our favorite day of the week!

Maria and Irene joined us this fine day, and Maria got to meet some more of the crazies!

We had guests!

After two weeks in Idaho, Sydney was back in town; we missed her a lot!  We did ask her, “If Idaho had its own space program, what would be the name of the first satellite?”  Sydney looked puzzled so I told her, “Spudnik 1”.

Sydney is back!

I retrieved this picture from my gardening website so show Gary tonight.  He is our contractor for the new garden at Casa Valencia.  The new garden will be larger than this one by a factor of at least 50%.  I used by drawing, and we will have 250 linear feet of 21-24″ high block wall.

The old garden is being recreated!  This was build in 2014.

We made beef ribs this evening, and they turned out pretty good!  Thank you Albertson’s Market!!  We called Chuck our bartender and asked how to cook them. He told us and we couldn’t believe it but, it worked. We baked it in a little pan filled with water after living a rub stay on it overnight. It was fall off the bone good.

Mary reminded me, “The way to the man’s heart is through his stomach. The trick is to use a long knife so that the ribs don’t get in the way.”

Ribs for dinner!

Mary reviews the estimate, and we are ready to go.  We have Gary a downpayment so that he can get the materials before the price goes up again.

Dang, she is pretty!

After cleaning up everything, we crashed.  I introduced Mary to “Gilmore Girls,” and she binge-watched until midnight.

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The Week Is Half Gone!

Posted on Wednesday, May 4, 2022 by Paul

Fact: The match was invented after the lighter.  The first match was made in 1826; however, the first cigarette lighter was created in 1823.

We were up early today to clean the house because the cleaners were coming!  That never sounds right?

The plastic surgeon’s assistant asked for a picture of the biopsy the doctor took Monday morning.  Mary did the honors, and we sent it to him immediately.

The surgeon wanted to see what he had to do!

We departed Casa Valencia for the nursery around 10:00 AM, and Mary pointed out the new trees!  Mary took a hard look at the beds and said, ” Someone has been adding soil to my garden. The plot thickens.”

I always wanted to grow mushrooms. So I asked Mary, “How much room should you give fungi to grow?”  As mushroom as possible.”

Mary shows our new trees!  Vanna White, eat your heart out!

We went to the Orange Farming Supply and picked out many plants to put in and around our garden.

We had lunch at Renada’s.

Gail Peterson called us and asked if we were going to the Elks Birthday Club.  When she said we get a free meal, we said yes.  We asked David to join us as Dianne visited her mother in Oregon.

We had a great time. What do George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Christopher Columbus all have in common? A: They were all born on holidays.

Ronnie started the trivia game tonight with a tribute to our country, God Bless The USA.   Elks all stand and applaud!

We went to the Birthday Club to celebrate Gail and Mary’s May birthdays!

Ronnie stopped by for a visit, and he tried on my new chapeaux; look good on him!

Ronnie came to visit!

We returned home and crashed.  It has been a long day!

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Another Busy Day!

Posted on Tuesday, May 3, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Lightning strikes the earth 100 times each second.
Each bolt contains up to one billion volts of electricity. This calculates to about 8 million lightning strikes per day.

I shall save the day!!

We were up fairly early and headed for the gym arriving at 8:15 AM.  We worked out for 45 minutes before going home to feed the baby!  Upon getting home we took the macerated kumquats and cooked them up.  Mary stood guard over the contents to make sure it was just right!

I had a “resting cardiogram” schedule for 3:15 PM so we headed to Los Alamitos around 2:00 PM because we had errands to do.  We stopped by Tom Burns’s house and dropped off a sympathy card for the loss of Bunny last week,

R.I.P.

We went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to replenish our container supply and then to the doctor’s office for the procedure.  The process took about an hour and we did not want to fight the traffic so we stopped at Old Ranch for a drink and some nibbles.

Dining at Old Ranch

We decided to stop by and see Jan on the way home.  We shared a glass of wine with her before going home to visit the baby! We only drink wine on days that end with a “y.”

Sunset over Casa Valencia

After arriving home we decided the Swim Spa was lonely.  We soaked for a good hour and discussed the rest of the week.

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Doctors To The Left; Doctors To The Right; Everywhere Doctors!

Posted on Monday, May 2, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Many oranges are actually green. While we assume that all oranges are orange in color because of their name, the fruit is often green when ripe, thanks to plenty of chlorophyll. In South America and other tropical locales, oranges are green year-round. But in the U.S., where it’s colder, oranges lose their chlorophyll and take on the color that matches their name. And because North American shoppers are used to oranges that are actually orange, imported fruit is either exposed to ethylene gas or shocked with cold water to remove the chlorophyll.

The alarm went off at 4:45 AM as we had to be in Los Alamitos at 6:30 AM for my dermatologists.  He took a couple of biopsies, and we were on our way to the imaging to see what was going on with this silly cough.  At 8:00 AM, I had a bilateral chest x-ray, and we headed back home.

Dr. Mary reminded me!

We went to the front yard and studied our new trees. They look very healthy, and we should have fruit by the end of summer. I asked Mary, “Why do oranges wear suntan lotion?”  I walked 32 feet away and yelled’ “Otherwise they would peel.”

It is a Valencia Orange, naturally!

Did You Know? The Valencia orange (as opposed to Seville orange) is a sweet orange cultivar named after the famed oranges in València, Spain. It was first hybridized by pioneer American agronomist and land developer William Wolfskill in the mid-19th century on his farm in Santa Ana, southern California, United States, North America.

The avocado also looks very healthy1

The avocado may be a little young to bear fruit this year, but it certainly has the blossoms and the start of fruit all over.

We just did chores the rest of the afternoon.  Around 4:00 PM, I got a call from my doctor’s office, and they had read the x-ray. They said absolutely everything looked 100% normal; that took a lot of worry off my chest.

Mary and I watched several movies.  The “Mountain Men” with Heston and Brian Keith was entertaining and funny! A pair of grizzled frontiersmen fight Indians, guzzle liquor and steal squaws in their search for a legendary valley ‘so full of beaver that they jump right into your traps’ in this fanciful adventure.

To process 4 cups of kumquats takes two people roughly an hour and a half, and it’s very time-consuming, but it sure is good.

We had peppers and sausages for dinner, and then close to 10 p.m., Mary took some of our homemade bread and toasted it, adding kumquat marmalade while the bread was still hot. It was beyond delicious.

Yummy for the tummy!!

Tomorrow we go to the gym early, and then in the afternoon, I am getting a nuclear stress test in the doctor’s office.  It takes about three-plus hours to complete, so I will charge my Kindle reader and hit the books!

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Hooray Hooray It’s The First Of May!

Posted on Sunday, May 1, 2022 by Paul

Fact: On May 1, 1931, the Empire State Building was officially opened.

We were up early again because we had things to do around the house. Mary plans to do some cooking today, and she asked if I would check to see if we had a chicken in the refrigerator. I did the check and got an immediate answer.

No more will I check on the food in the frig!

Last week when I took down the Easter flag, I noticed that the American flag was starting to unravel along the top. I thought to myself I had better order another one from Amazon. I did not realize that Mary was also a seamstress, among all her other talents. After 30 minutes of trying to remember how to get the sewing machine I’ve been to the operational position, Mary had that flag looking as good as new.

The American flag represents all of us and the values we hold sacred.  We will always keep the flag in good shape!

Mary has many talents!

.I decided it was time for me to chop up the closet doors that I would use in the attic. The goofy trash people who I called so they would come over and get the extra-large things, but they only do for the time. I thought that’s silly, they’ll take all the doors. After looking at the results of their visit, I had four fewer stores than I had before their visit. My Makita Skil saw chopped about 15 doors into trash-sized pieces.

I filled up one trashcan and then decided to sit for a few minutes to catch my breath. When I was going to go and chop up the remaining doors, I saw a blue car pull into the driveway. I did not recognize it at first, and then it dawned on me that Bob Duda would come over with “Ol’ Blue” and pick up the doors and put it in the trash container at his work.  This truck belonged to Pete, my son-in-law until he gave it to Nick, my grandson. It only has 235,000 miles, so it’s still almost brand new.

Bob Duda and “Old Blue” came to visit.

I went into the kitchen, and Mary was making bread. I tried to get a picture of her, but she said, “my hair is not combed, and I don’t have lipstick.” That translates to take a picture of me in this condition you get shot at Sunrise.

No makeup, no picture!

I tried to call Colleen, but the call would not go through.  I could not figure out what was wrong until Mary told me.

Oops!

We worked in the kitchen together for a couple of hours before getting ready to go dancing at studio M in Chino. The gang was there tonight except for Bob and Donna who were entertaining the family. We danced from 7:30 PM until past 10:30 PM this evening.

We went dancing!

We crashed after getting home; it was a good day!

 

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