Another Busy Saturday!

Posted on Saturday, April 30, 2022 by Paul

Fact: When there’s a double rainbow, the second rainbow mirrors the primary one. It’s always exciting to spot a rainbow—but it’s even more thrilling to spot a double rainbow. Frankly, you may have been so captivated by the stunning occurrence that you failed to notice a wonderfully delightful detail: The second arch displays its colors in the opposite order of the primary rainbow!

Even though it was Saturday morning, we got up early because the tree people were supposed to be here between eight and 9:30 AM.  Mary went out into the street and took a look at where we first marked for the plants to be put.  After seeing it from across the street, we adjusted their locations by a couple of feet so they would be just right.

I asked Mary, “How does a tree get on the Internet?”  She thought about it, and then I blurted out, “It logs in.”

Where shall we put the trees?

The picture below is the “before” shot.  We will have a producing orange and avocado trees in a few short years.  It’s a perfect location because our house faces north, and the sun will come across the back of the house and provide plenty of sunshine for the new trees, and it will not shade the flowers on the wall.

We marked the spot!

The five guys went to work digging holes in my beautiful front yard. They did an excellent job at cleaning up, and not only that, they took the grass that they had dug up and moved it to the backyard and put it where the two previous trees were.

The guys show up at 9:30 AM.

Their equipment was perfect for this type of work.  They had loading ramps and lifts in three places. The truck had a crew cab because all six guys fit in with no problem.

Ready to go!

The avocado tree already has some small fruit on it; we could potentially get avocados later on in the summer.  I tried to make guacamole with an unripe avocado. It was pit-iful.

How do avocado spies communicate? They use guacie-talkies!

They did a great job of putting in the trees!

Mary inspects the new plantings; they look lovely.  The orange tree is full of blossoms, and it should produce later this summer!  I love oranges, and thanks to our super neighbors, we never run out. In fact,  I’m scared I’m turning orange. Hopefully, it’s just a pigment of my imagination!

Mary eyeballs the results.

After the plantings, Mary and I made bread, with her doing most of the work!  We made two loaves, one in a bread machine and the other from scratch and a loaf pan.  They made the house smell wonderful.

At 3:30 PM, it was nappy time; a good hour nap was needed as we were both tired.  At 4:45 PM, we were up and moving again and put away Easter.  We cannot find the Easter ornament small boxes which were in the garage for the past two months!  We gave up and bubble-wrapped everything!

Scout was next door at a party, but he will be home soon!

Robin and Bob are coming over tonight for a visit which we always enjoy.  We sat outside for almost two hours until the thermometer indicated 64 degrees.  We came inside, and I lit the fireplace to knock off some of the evening chills!  We had homemade bread and drank margaritas and wine until 10:00 PM.  Bob and daughter Robin are just simply delightful!

The Duda’s come over for a visit!

The day was quite successful as days go.  We got new trees; the backyard dead trees are gone, we brushed up on our bread-making skills, Easter is put away; all is good!

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On The Road Again!

Posted on Friday, April 29, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Lobsters have different uses for each of their claws. A lobster’s two claws look very different, too. The larger of the two is the crusher claw, and this is the dominant claw.  As its name suggests, this claw is primarily used for tasks such as crushing their prey’s hard shells or exoskeletons. The other claw is much smaller and has more serrated “teeth,” and is used to rip the flesh of their prey to shreds to make it easier to eat.

Scout, The Wonder Dog, was up bright and early telling me about a visit to the public drinking fountain just around the corner!

We headed to Los Alamitos bright and early to see Dr. Vanatta, my heart doctor.  I have been having an issue with shortness of breath and wanted to check it with him.   He was not too excited about the problem and using ultrasound; he said the heart muscle sounded great.  He was happy since my cholesterol was at 54!   In a week, I am returning to his office to do a full blood panel and a nuclear stress test.

We had some time, so we called Vicky and had her join us at the Fish Company!  We enjoyed a super lunch and talked for a good hour!

My dear neighbor for 30+ years!

We enjoyed some excellent seafood, including a collection of oysters!

We are enjoying friends!

We bought some clam chowder and took it to David on our way home.

He was a happy camper!

We took a short nap and then made a lite dinner.  We took a quick dip in the Swim Spa, and we were down for the count!

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Thursday; Our Nine Month Anniversary!

Posted on Thursday, April 28, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Bamboo grows so fast, it’s measured in miles per hour. Along with being strong and flexible, bamboo can be grown as a decorative plant or a practical crop. And bamboo is also a fabulously renewable resource. In fact, it’s the fastest growing plant on the planet, capable of shooting up 35 inches each day at a rate of 0.00002 miles per hour, according to Guinness World Records.

I must the luckiest man on earth because I found in Dr. Mary an absolutely wonderful person who is a perfect fit for my rather odd personality.  She is very special, and I look forward to a long time together having fun and helping people!

I suddenly remembered, “Never laugh at your wife’s choices. You are one of them.”

Then I heard Mary whisper to herself, “Paul said he needed more space. OK,  I will lock him outside!”

It still amazes me that we have known each other for over twenty-two years and after that period of time, learn we are so very compatible; it’s a “wow!” moment!

Well, after our morning coffee Mary brought out the macerated kumquats, and we had a boiling party.  After a bit, it was determined we needed pectin, so the Silver Fox and I headed to Albertsons.

Did You Know? When met with heat plus sugar or calcium, pectin begins to gel. Because of this, it’s commonly used to thicken fruits that are not naturally high in pectin (examples include strawberries and raspberries) to create jams or thicken fruit juices to create jellies. Without pectin, these would require excessive amounts of sugar to thicken.

We sterilized the canning jars in billing water before pouring the marmalade into the containers. We let them sit for a bit to cool off before tightening the tops.

Completing the kumquat marmalade!

We then headed to the Santa Ana Elks to do “Girls Night Out.”  We enjoyed ourselves as it is a favorite event of the week!  Mary was a good girl and had soup and salad.  Me, I headed for the braised short ribs!

Girls Night Out!

After GNO, we went to Freeway Honda and retrieved the Grey Ghost.  He had his 80,000-mile tune-up and the doctor said he was as fit as a fiddle.  I’ve never once been able to explain my car trouble to a mechanic without resorting to sound effects.  This time I didn’t have to resort to making sounds!

The only thing he needed was windshield wiper blades!  I looked at the Kelly Blue Book and this car is worth $16,000 today!  I remember paying $48,000 for it in 2014.

Arriving home  I completed some work in the backyard while Mary puttered in the kitchen.

When I came inside, Mary had trotted out a mess of apples, and we did apple sauce.  I love the way it makes the house smell. We processed eight Granny Smith apples and that’s just enough for the rest of the week.

Did You Know? The Granny Smith, also known as a green apple or sour apple, is an apple cultivar that originated in Australia in 1868. It is named after Maria Ann Smith, who propagated the cultivar from a chance seedling.

The fruit is hard, firm, and with light green skin and crisp, juicy flesh. The flavor is tart and acidic. It remains firm when baked, making it a popular cooking apple[2] used in pies, where it can be sweetened. The apple goes from being completely green to turning yellow when overripe.  The US Apple Association reported in 2019 that the Granny Smith was the third most popular apple in the United States of America.

Busy cooking up homemade applesauce!

About two weeks ago I gave Mary a recipe for braised cabbage and for some reason, she remembered.  Mary pulled the cabbage out of the fridge and whipped it up. The recipe called for bacon to be mixed in with the cabbage so Mary made some turkey bacon for tonight’s meal. We also found a good German sausage to add to the cabbage. It was a delightful dinner.

Brazed cabbage with German sausage!

During dinner, we watched a movie called “Robinson Caruso”.  It was a 1948 version and it frankly was not all that good.

After dinner, we had the swim spa had a glass of wine, and gazed at the stars. I love this time together, just sit and talk and enjoy each other’s company.

Before going to bed, Mary made dinner rolls, and we tried out the kumquat marmalade; to die for!  She is rather an amazing lady!

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Never A Dull Moment!

Posted on Wednesday, April 27, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Nobody knows how to open the entire vault at Fort Knox. Kentucky’s Fort Knox is one of the most secure places in the U.S., due to the fact that it’s home to more than 147.3 million ounces of gold bullion, according to the U.S. Mint. During World War II, it even stored the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. So obviously, there are strict precautions when it comes to access. For instance, there are very few people who are aware of the actual structure of the facility, and there’s not one single person who knows all of the procedures to open the vault entirely.

We were up early to drop off the Honda for his 80,000-mile checkup.  Mary took the Red Rocket, a.k.a. Precious, and followed me.  The Freeway Honda is two blocks from the SA Elks Lodge!

The easiest way to make your old car run better is to check the prices of a new car.

I mentioned to Mary, “It’s time for a new car when you double the value of your car every time you fill the tank.”

A woman was driving below the speed limit on the interstate when a highway patrolman pulled her over. “Do you know why I stopped you, ma’am?” asked the officer. “Sure do,” sniffed the woman. “I was the only one you could catch.”

We took hor rod out today!

We were going to do some weeding in the from the yard but after a close examination, there were no weeds to be pulled!  Mary went inside and did some work while I stayed in the garage and got boxes ready to go into the trash!

We are both attempting to watch our weight so brunch was protein-rich and calorie poor!  The grapefruit comes from or neighbors yard and it was so very juicy!

Brunch is served on the patio.

We got a text from Zack and Becca had completed her graduation ceremony; we are proud of her!  Now she is a fully credentialed teacher of special-needs kids and her salary goes up a fair amount.   Good job Rebecca!!!!

Rebecca goes through the graduation ceremonies today in Arizona.

Mary and I were talking about how to keep the family together and I was remembering my parents; they were past masters at this!  Mary has all the skills, and we will keep on trying to keep the family together!

My parents are always telling me that their world doesn’t revolve around me. So I guess that means that I wasn’t actually their sun.

TRUTH BE SPOKED!

Mid-afternoon we went to the neighbor’s house t pick loquats! We looked all over the yard and they had only kumquats; BIG difference.  So we picked about 16 cups of kumquats and then found a recipe for making kumquat marmalade.

Did You Know? Marmalade is a fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. The well-known version is made from bitter orange. It is also made from lemons, limes, grapefruits, mandarins, sweet oranges, bergamots, and other citrus fruits, or a combination.

We hand processed the fruit and it took us two solid hours to make four cups because the fruit had to be quartered and the pulp and seeds removed. The results need to be chopped into four pieces. That means every fruit et cut twenty times!

We hand-processed four cups of kumquats!

We stopped and let the kumquats macerate in the sugar solution overnight. Maceration is the process of preparing foods through the softening or breaking into pieces using a liquid.

Kumquat marmalade in process of being made!

We were tired of kumquats so we headed to Jan’s house for a visit and brought her some goodies.  We sat with her and called Mike Jonas to wish him a happy birthday.

Upon returning home, we watched TV and finally crashed around 9:00 PM.  It was a busy day!

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More Doctors!

Posted on Tuesday, April 26, 2022 by Paul

Fact: The earliest written record that mentions the practice of medicine is Hammurabi’s Code from the 18th century BC in Mesopotamia. This extensive code of laws includes information for physicians about payments for successful treatments and punishments for medical failures. For example, payment was better for curing the wealthy, but failing to do so could result in the loss of a hand.

We began the day 1t 5:30 AM.  I went out and sat on the french and yelled “cock-a-doodle-doo” as loud as possible to annoy the roosters in the hood!  Then back in the house before the neighbor’s shoes started flying over the fence!  What do vegetables watch when they’re feeling frisky?  Cornography!!

I was feeling frisky this morning; what can I say!

We first went to Tustin Lexus to drop off Precious for her 10,000-mile checkup!  I followed Mary in the Silver Fox.

Precious leaves for her appointment at the Car Beauty Parlor!

We then hurried back home to feed the baby.  He was disappointed that we did not feed him before leaving, so he called the local tat parlor.  I think it’s pretty cool how the Chinese made a language entirely out of tattoos.

Scout is a real smarty pants!

We went to the gym from the auto shop, where we donated 1.5 cups of sweat and hopefully a couple of pounds of fat to the great Calorie God.  Mary and I do the same machines, but she pulls more weight on each one.

It is frustrating; no matter what I do, I cannot lose these 15 pounds… I mean, I have tried everything short of diet and exercise.

Watch out, the machine is over-heating!  Get the fire extinguisher quick!

I use 1/2 pound weights and straining.  Besides, I get enough exercise just pushing my luck.

Then we were off to see one of my doctors in Long Beach.  That visit was great as he had some recommendations and then wanted me to take another blood test in a month.  MAry always goes with me to make sure I hear everything.

Next time I will leave her home!

While in the doctor’s office, we got a call that Mary’s car was done, and they could take The Silver Fox for his 25,000-mile checkup!

We departed Long Beach and became the free-way-flyer, returning to the Lexus dealer and exchanging cars.  Mary’s Precious was washed and looked fantastic.    We drove home and picked up the Silver Fox a few hours later.

Mary went VFR into the kitchen and began making a Portobello Caprese sandwich; her Sous Chef was available for manual labor.  But first, after going to the gym, I removed all the fattening food from my house, and it was delicious.

A “Mary’s Creation” lunch is under construction.

We took one over to Jeff, our neighbor, and then we jumped into the remaining one!  It was delicious!

During lunch, I ordered a chicken and an egg from Amazon. I’ll let you know.

Portobello Caprese sandwich is coming through.

After lunch, we wandered down to the Lexus dealer and retrieved the Silver Fox.  We did a quick survey of the yard, and things are coming along nicely.

Our baby tomatoes are beginning to get ripe.

We drove over to Jan’s and shared a boggle of wine with her.  We stayed a good hour before returning home to crash.  We have been on the go all day long.

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Oh Dear, Getting A Physical Today!

Posted on Monday, April 25, 2022 by Paul

Fact: We are born with only two innate fears.  While it might seem like you’ve been afraid of snakes and spiders since you were born, that’s not totally true. Scientists found that humans have just two innate fears: the fear of falling and the fear of loud sounds. The rest of your phobias are learned over time.

We had to be in Los Alamitos at 10:30 AM for my “annual physical,” so we departed the house at 9:45 AM to make sure we had time.   We got there, and I got so upset!

When you get to a certain age, it’s good to have a regular physical examination, just in case. But being pretty healthy, I didn’t have any worries when I went for my appointment and was pretty relaxed.

The nurse started the examination with some basic questions, like “How much do you weigh?”

“185 pounds”, I replied.

The nurse then had me stand on the scales.

It turned out my weight is actually 215 pounds! Well, that was a shock, I tell you.

The nurse then asked me, “How tall are you?”

“6 foot 1 inch”, I replied.

The nurse checked my height and said that actually, I only measure 5 foot 8 inches.

She then took my blood pressure and told me it was very high.

“Of course, it’s high!” I screamed, “When I came in here, I was tall and slender! Now I’m just short and fat!”

The exam went well except for Dr. Rucker and Dr. Mary giggling as they spoke Latin to each other using fifty-foot-long words.

As we departed, the phone rang, and it was our neighbor who we saw at the rally yesterday; he reported as being tested positive for COVID.  We were going to have lunch with Irene at the Greek restaurant in Long Beach, but we called Irene and canceled based on this news. We went ahead and went to the Greek restaurant and dined outside.  We were not in proximity to him so we felt we would be just fine.

Great Greek dining on 2nd Street

We started the meal with our favorite, Saganaki.  Saganaki is simply Kasiri cheese melted in a big iron pan squirted with lemon and a nice big healthy dash of brandy at room temperature so it will burn rapidly.

Step 1 – Brush each side of the kasseri cheese with water. Dredge both sides in flour, making sure the surface is completely covered.

Step 2 – Preheat a well seasoned cast iron skillet on medium-high heat until smoking. Pour in olive oil. Carefully place the floured cheese in the hot oil. Cook until cheese begins to ooze and a golden-brown crust forms, about 2 minutes. Quickly flip the cheese over with a spatula. Fry until the bottom is golden brown, about 30 seconds more.

Step 3 – Remove from the heat and place the skillet onto a napkin-lined plate. Pour brandy into the skillet over the cheese. Light the brandy using a fireplace lighter. Now you can exclaim “Opa!” and marvel at the fire. Squeeze some lemon juice on top to extinguish the last few flames and garnish with parsley.

The owner/manager greeted us with Saganaki!

I asked Mary, “What do you call a Greek philosopher who loves rice? Arisotto”

Saganaki was terrific!

Remember, Never eat expired Greek food. You’ll falafel afterward!

We ordered an appetizer plate, which had a little bit of everything on it so we coiuld try things out. We emptied the plate; we thought we would be taking this home because we had the main course coming also.

The appetizers BEFORE

It was magic because, within 13.5 µs, the entire plate was empty with only a minuscule dip left in each small container.

The appetizers AFTER

Mary seems to enjoy the Greek food as this is the second time we have gone to George’s restaurant in the Long Beach area. The first time it was their main restaurant on Pine Street, and we sat on the patio.

Yummy, and the food was good also!

Today we sat on the street with the traffic moving back and forth within 36 inches of where we were dining.

Just little ol’ us!

And, if on queue, here came the fruits!

Lots of fruits in the area!

We returned home about 2:30 PM and decided a nap was required.  We both slept for almost two hours.  Mary made chicken soup from scratch for our sick neighbor.  She peeled the whole chicken, and I was a cut-up; the veggies, you know!

Mary likes it fresh!

We worked in the office until 11:00 PM, with me fixing up the Nixon Library Website and Mary working on the last 500-piece puzzle we will ever do!

We stayed up to fill the swim spa with water since our pool guy emptied it yesterday.

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Weed;TV;Chores;Visit;Dance – We Have A Busy Day Ahead!

Posted on Sunday, April 24, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Figs aren’t considered vegan because they have dead wasps inside. Anyone who sticks to a strictly plant-based diet will want to remove figs from their repertoire. While the figs themselves are fruit, they often include bugs. Vegan Life explains that a female “wasp will enter the fig, passing into a part of the plant known as the calimyrna” while trying to lay her eggs. “Eventually, she dies… and is broken down by a protein-digesting enzyme inside the fig.”

It’s Sunday and time to unwind, so we did!  We accomplished a mess of little chores around the house, and Mary completed her detoxification of the office!   It sounds silly, but I fixed the cables in the family room and found out why the family room wifi was so slow…darned thing was plugged in wrong.

Scout seemed preoccupied in talking to the neighbors dog, I listened in to find out what all the noise was about.

In the afternoon we ran to CVS to get some meds and returned via Ralph’s to bring Jan some goodies.

At 4:00 PM, we went to the neighbor’s home and attended a “rally” for a city council person.

Interesting and a conservative! Yeah!

At 6:15 PM we departed for our weekly dance in Chino and dance until 9:30 PM.  We were tired so we crashed.  It was a busy day!

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Saturday Has Arrived; We Made It in One Piece!

Posted on Saturday, April 23, 2022 by Paul

Fact: The original name for the search engine Google was Backrub. It was renamed Google after the googol, which is the number one,  followed by 100 zeros.

Did You Know? In 1920, Edward Kasner’s nine-year-old nephew, Milton Sirotta, coined the term googol, which is 10100, and then proposed the further term googolplex to be “one, followed by writing zeroes until you get tired.” Kasner decided to adopt a more formal definition because “different people get tired at different times, and it would never do to have Carnera a better mathematician than Dr. Einstein, simply because he had more endurance and could write for longer.” It thus became standardized to 10 to the 10th to the 100th power, due to the right-associativity of exponentiation.

At 5:30 AM, I heard the crowing of an obviously deranged chicken, so I got up and went to the office.  Scout, The Wonder Dog,  got up with me and herded me toward the backyard instead; it was potty time for the big guy! He told me it was Saturday and time for his bath!

He was giving me a hint; he wants his bath but ONLY if it uses a special soap!

It was 48 degrees when we woke up, so we stayed inside and worked in the office until about 10:00 AM.  Mary continued making reservations and arrangements for our road trip!

I paid bills and straightened out the wireless wire nest!  It’s kind of like the liberals who believe in electric cars; they think that means no oil!  Oil is used to generate the power to recharge their silly vehicles.  NOTE: Do not get me wrong, we will have electric cars eventually but only after we get serious about other power sources than windmills!

It is like the ‘wireless electronics”; we must have a charger cable to keep them working.  I have six charger cables right by my computer to keep my “wireless” items going!

Russian scientists dug 1000 meters deep and found a copper wire.  They concluded that 1000 yrs back, our ancestors were using copper cable technology.

American scientists dug 2000 meters deep and found optic fiber.  They concluded that 2000 yrs back, our ancestors were using optic fiber technology. 

Indian scientists dug and found nothing. They concluded our ancestors were using Wireless Technology!

Yes indeed!

We had some extra space for veggies out along the south forty fence line.  We surveyed the area before heading to Home Depot for a veggie run!

Plus, it is good exercise!

I completed getting ready to go shopping and had a dilemma.

It’s tough getting old!

While at HD, we picked up two hibiscus plants to put on our patio, and they will add color and symmetry to the patio decor.

Hibiscus develops large, trumpet-shaped flowers without scent. The flower consists of five or more petals that can be white, yellow, orange, purple, pink, red, or blue. It contains both male (stamen) and female (pistil) reproductive organs. Bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds are the primary pollinators of hibiscus flowers.

We now have two hibiscus trees; we love having the van!

We hauled all but one plant to the backyard and began the process of planting the little guys.  We had our electric auger making the planting go fast!  MAry located, I drilled, Mary planted, I got the cages, and MAry watered; we are indeed a team!

Did You Know? According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest tomato tree grows at Walt Disney World Resort’s experimental greenhouse, yields more than 32,000 tomatoes, and weighs 1,151.84 pounds (522 kg). The plant was discovered in Beijing, China, by Yong Huang, Epcot’s manager of agricultural science, who took its seeds and grew them in the experimental greenhouse.

Gardening adds years to your life and life to your years.

Two hours later, they are planted, watered, and drip-lined!

In 50 days, we will be loaded with tomatoes. I told Mary, “I like to put coriander on my blended tomatoes. It’s soup herb.”  I present you a ponderism: If a tomato is a fruit, is ketchup a jam?

The plants got their little drip lines, so we do not need to worry about them if we are gone.  If we get a hot spell, I can turn the watering system on/off via my phone!   You may notice a tag wired to the top of every stand.  Those tags came with the plant, so we will remember what they are.

Come on, babies!

We had one remaining tomato plant and no place to put it in the back yard, so it landed on the left side of our front yard garden!  Why not?  It was a Roma tomato which is a paste tomato and delicious.

I cut them in half, place them on a baking sheet face up, and broil them to make amazing snacks!

When I see our garden and remember the work we did together, I always think there are always flowers for those who want to see them.  I am blessed to have Dr. Mary by my side, and she sees the world in the same way!

The kids next door challenged me to water fight in the front yard.  I said, “Sure!” I’m just waiting for it to boil.

I hate when political candidates put their signs up in my front yard. I am going to call City Hall and find out who the hell is Foreclosure?

The last tomato ended up in the front yard!

We were tired, so we had some leftovers for dinner and then went to the swim spa.  After ninety minutes, we barely crawled out and headed for bed.  We attempted to watch TV, but we were both out like a light in minutes. At 11:00 PM, I woke up, took off Mary’s glasses, turned off the TV, took Scout out, and completed the daily diary for today!

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Friday Be Here And It Is A Work Day!

Posted on Friday, April 22, 2022 by Paul

Fact. The Indian railways employ more than a million employees. 

We were tired after the visit and decided to be lazy today.  We worked in the office for a while, and Mary made reservations for our upcoming trip to Oregon.  I always wanted to hang a map of the world in my house. Then I’m gonna put pins into all the locations that I’ve traveled to. But first, I’m gonna have to travel to the top two corners of the map so it won’t fall down.

We decided to drive because I tried to sue the airline for misplacing my luggage once. I lost my case.

I changed the website front page to Mother’s Day and updated the website, making it ready for the 2022 event.

I took a picture of Mary in her high school annual circa 1968 so she could load it into her  “reunion website.”  She was sure a cute little thing!

The young Dr. Mary was (an still is) a knockout!!

I went to the garage and installed one additional quad-duplex 115 VAC outlet by the door.  It was scary as I thought I had opened the circuit breaker, and just before I cut the wires to the proper length, I touched the black and white wires together.  There was a mini-explosion and large spark, and the real breaker tripped.  I had been working on a live circuit.

I dang near had my hair curled!!

Mary called me in about 11:00 AM for brunch; we did gruel as my weight went way up while the kids were here. I was nearing 215.5 pounds when they departed.  A week of carefully watching the intake and I will return to my svelt 205!

I was going to fly the drone but a quick check of the drone-weather app, and it was a no-go!

The drone stayed in his box.

After lunch, I worked on the security system getting all the twelve cameras readjusted and properly renamed.  Mary made an amazing dinner.  By 2:00 PM we decided enough was enough; Mary had brought out the roll-around TV into the kitchen, and we watched some great movies.

The first was called “Fundamentals of a Caregiver.”  A man suffering a family loss enrolls in a class about caregiving that changes his perspective on life.

Mary made dinner which consisted of a tomato salad that was out of this world good!  That was followed by some chili.  I went back for seconds on the salad, and it has inspired us to go out tomorrow and get four more tomato plants to put in the rear of the property!

We got a call from Colleen with bad news.  My Aunt Kaye passed away today at the ripe old age of 99 after contracting pneumonia.  She was an amazing lady who I dearly loved.  Now all my aunts and uncles are gone but certainly not forgotten!

Goodbye for now sweet lady! Time for you and Mom to catch up!

We watched a second movie while eating dinner. The movie was entitled “Jortney of 100 Feet”. The Kadam family leaves India for France where they open a restaurant directly across the road from Madame Mallory’s Michelin-starred eatery.

The film is quite funny!

We decided to hit the sack and I attempted to watch another movie but alas, the eyes closed and I was off doing battle with the Sandman.

Did You Know?  The mythological sense may be from German Sandmann, Sandmännchen, as it is apparently first attested in English in the context of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s novella The Sandman (1816). The German is attested in the relevant sense since at least the mid-18th century.

Good night form us to you!!

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Gone But NOT Forgotten!

Posted on Thursday, April 21, 2022 by Paul

Fact:  Hitchcock brought the throne to the big screen.  The first movie to show a toilet being flushed was Alfred Hitchcock’s classic horror picture, Psycho.

The grandkids were up early packing and sitting with us,  talking.   Scout told them about his last vacation.

Scout said goodbye by sharing one of his stories!

At 7:45 AM, the doorbell rang, and the limo had arrived.  We hated to see them go, but alas, all good things must end.  We had five full days of visiting and dining and enjoying each other!  We hope they want to do it again, soon!!

 

In a couple of hours, they will be in Nevada!

My Google Photos system made a collage of Mary and Robin.

Mary & Robin; a pair to draw too!

We went to the gym right after the kids departed.  We skipped Tuesday, so we worked a little harder than normal today; we also felt it later in the afternoon.

There she goes hitting 75 MPH with lights flashing!

After the gym, we returned home to feed the baby and work before going to Girls Night Out at the Santa Ana Elks.  Iris, Will, Bill, George, and the Ash’s were there today, and we laughed and giggled for two hours!

On the way home, we decided to do a flyby at our house to pick up some chili for Jan.  The car knew the way to Jan’s well, so all we did was say “Go To Jan’s,” and we were whisked away.

Jan always talks about playing the piano, so we walked into the front room and asked her to play.  She played; we howled; we all laughed!

I was asked about my musical skills, and I mentioned the accordion.  Jan pulled a ladies accordion out from under the piano, and I attempted to play it.  I remembered Third-Man Theme, Beer Barrel Polka, and Lady Of Spain.

I told them, what’s a gentleman—somebody who knows how to play the accordion but doesn’t.

I played the squeezebox when I was twelve years old.

We killed off a boggle of wine and enjoyed a prolonged visit returning home around 5:00 PM.  We skipped dinner because lunch was so good.  The pool was still 88 degrees, so we went swimming for an hour and then headed for the swim spa!

I did ask Mary, “Where do zombies like to go swimming?”  I answered, “The Dead Sea!”

The moon was fantastic tonight.

By the time we got inside, we were pooped, so we crashed immediately.

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We Have Visitors Who Have Visitors!

Posted on Wednesday, April 20, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Anatidaephobia is the fear of being watched by a duck. A person with Anatidaephobia fears that somewhere in the world, a duck or a goose is watching them.

In our attempt to let the grandkids know what we do, we went to Rockwell’s for breakfast (the Mexican place was closed for another forty minutes, and we were hungry!).  We had a super breakfast and got the energy to go to Home Depot, where Miss Mary found more petunias.  The word ‘Petunia’ is from a native South American word ‘petun,’ the name for ‘tobacco, of which it is a close relative.

Life is amazing!

Returning home, we pretty much lounged around and awaited the arrival of Amy, Joe, and the kids.  When they arrived, the kids went swimming, and the adults stood around the kitchen counter and ate.  Mary made chili, and I cooked up some artichokes when I heard Amy loved them!

We got a re-estimate on the proposed garden at our house, and we gave him the go-ahead.  He plans to start in late May, taking about three weeks. It will look like the old garden in Los Alamitos except larger by 50% when it is done.

We gave the “green light”: for the new garden today!

I bought a drone just like Jon’s, and when it arrived, Jon gave me some flight lessons.   I am going to take it slow to get to know the features.  Getting my drone stuck in a tree isn’t the worst thing that happened to me today. But it’s definitely up there.

I told Jon, “Sure, you could teach me how to fly a drone. But I think it would just go over my head.”

Jon fires up the drone and gives papa lessons!

I have a lot of problems using remotes!

It’s NOT funny!

Apollo came to play with Scout, and they had a wonderful time chasing each other all over the yard.  Charlie and Alex dived into the nice warm pool!

Charlie, Alex, and Apollo!

In the water they go! Apollo nearly joined them!

Splish splash they were taking a bath!

Jon flew the drone, and I even tried it.  We knew the boys were “gamers,” so we gave them 30 seconds of instruction, and off the drone went flying all over the place!

I relayed a story to the family. It seems the male bees were unhappy with their lot in life.  So they decided to stop fertilizing the Queen. They had the usual demands: larger honey rations, shorter hours, etc. The worker bees tried to negotiate, but it was too late, and the hive never recovered. Thus it became the first beehive destroyed in a drone strike.

Up up and away!

Even Four-Thumbs Liles had a wack at it, and we gave Joe a more advanced drone for his birthday.  Now he can see the baseball games from a new vantage point.

I told Joe, “Amazon just got approved for drone delivery.  We now have skeet shooting with prizes.”

The Chief Test Pilot

We had a load of fun flying it around the backyard!

Meanwhile, the girls visited inside, where it was warm and SAFE from drone attacks.

Ladies!

Miss Amy said she liked artichokes, so I immediately ran to the frig and extracted two beauties; they were cooking away within minutes.  A little mayo and we had a feast.  I taught the girls how to get the artichoke hearts from the choke.

A beautiful lady!

Chili was served, and it was danged good.  I did ask Mary, “How many beans do you put in Irish chili?” I broke down and told her immediately, “Two hundred and thirty-nine.
Why? Because one more would be two-farty.”

Robin came by, which is always a good thing.  She wanted to say bye to the kids before they departed.

Always a great smile!

This was the last supper before they headed to Las Vegas to visit friends and family for a few days.

The last meal!

We cleaned up and talked for a while before crashing; it was  wonderful visit!

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We Worked Today After We Ate And Visited!

Posted on Tuesday, April 19, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Museums support over 726,000 American jobs. Museums contribute $50 billion to the U.S. economy each year.

Jon and I were up with the chickens and began to fly a new drone.  We decided it was too complex for us, and I reordered a beginner’s version, like Jon’s.   At 11:00 AM we set sail for the Royal Khyber restaurant at South Coast Plaza, an up-scale Indian dining establishment.

I have been going there for over thirty years! The GM and I have grown old together!

The Indian spices wafted through the room as we entered, and I began salivating!  We were ready to eat!

Miss Sarah studies the menu because they eat Indian all the time!

Jon and I just looked for the “hot stuff.”  We decided on sharing two kinds of vindaloo! Vindaloo or vindalho is an Indian curry dish, which is originally from Goa, based on the Portuguese dish carne de vinha d’alhos. It is known globally in its British Indian form as a staple of curry house and Indian restaurant menus and is often regarded as a fiery, spicy dish.

Goa is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the east and south, with the Arabian Sea forming its western coast.

He is smiling now but just wait!

Mary was excited as this was he first trip to an up-scale Indian establishment.  She tried the Chicken Biryani which is basmati rice with free range chicken, spices, herbs, saffron & brown onions. She also enjoyed the Saag Paneer which is spinach and cheese.

“Good groceries!”

We had an abundance of captivating items from whence to choose from.  Great fun describing what we were tasting.

The vindaloo’s were engaging!

We checked on MAry to make sure she did not get anything too spicy!  So far, so good!

Massive quantities (to paraphrase SNL)

We walked slowly on the way out admiring the decorations and the furniture.

If we had a piano, that would look great on it!

We stopped by the Reidy’s.  David and Diane are collectors and have their own private museum in Tustin.  We stopped at their home and are always amazed at the surprises in store for us,  The kids had a ball with David escorting them through the house.

Mary, Dianne, and Howard Hughes sit and chew the fat!

Sarah likes her cowboys!

“Hi there, little missy!” – Clink Eastwood!

The Reidy’s have many orchestrons. Orchestrion is a generic name for a machine that plays music and is designed to sound like an orchestra or band. Orchestrions may be operated by means of a large pinned cylinder or by a music roll and less commonly book music.

The orchestron below plays the piano, a violin, and a tambourine.  Take a listen to this marvelous device that is 94 years old!

When we came home, Jon and I attacked the She-Shed putting up two sets of shelves and restacking Mary;s storage boxes.  Now we have room in the shed to move.  It looks so good.

We had planned to go to PAtty’s Place but we were all so full that we stayed home and had a snack about 9:00 PM before crashing for the evening.

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Return To “Normal”

Posted on Monday, April 18, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Japan consists of 6,852 islands. The islands were originally attached to the eastern coast of Asia, until tectonic activity caused them to split off, creating the Sea of Japan around 15 million years ago.

The kids departed early and went to Vista to visit Jon’s dad.  We worked around the house and rested.  We remembered we wanted to try Japanese food for dinner so we made reservations at the Hibachi Steak House and asked Dianne and David to join us.  We had great fun!

We made reservations for the Tappan area. Most people agree that teppanyaki was first introduced by Japanese chefs as a grilling style in the U.S. Teppan translates as iron plate, and yaki translates as pan-fried or grilled. Teppanyaki grills are found in many Japanese restaurants as long, flat grills where guests are seated.

Getting ready for the main course!

The evening was made special by Dianne and David joining the meal!  David is originally from New Hampshire so he and the kids have a lot in common!

Dianne and David joined us.

We enjoyed our guests! Mary liked the volcano so we will have to try it at home!  As soon as the big garden gets in and we have a load of large white onions growing, we sill begin practicing.

We were having a load of fun!

The flat, hot cooking surface is key to the flavorful preparation of Teppanyaki dishes. … Unlike a typical restaurant meal, which often cools as it is brought to the table, the teppanyaki grill allows for every bite of your meal to be hot and fresh, as you eat while the chef works by your side on his hot cooking surface.

When do Japanese men vote? – During an erection!  (I could not help myself)

The volcano is smoldering.  You do it this way:

  1. Prepare the Onion.
  2. Heat the Grill or Pan.
  3. Stack the Onion Slices Like a Volcano.
  4. Pour a Little Sesame Oil Down the Center.
  5. Pour a Little Vodka Down the Center.
  6. Use a Long Lighter to Light the Hibachi Flames.

He moves rather quickly!

If you ask the question, “Where is the beef?”  We found it!

Romaji: Saru mo ki kara ochiru
Literally: Even monkees fall from trees
Meaning: Even an expert can make mistakes; also sometimes used as a warning that “pride comes before a fall”

We were all stuffed by the end of the evening.

We gather together after a long time in front of the grill!  Tunnies are full and the sake cups are dry.

Great fun with friends and family!

We got home and crashed!  It has been a long day and the kids drove two-plus hours on the freeway!

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Happy Easter To All

Posted on Sunday, April 17, 2022 by Paul

Fact: The first story of a rabbit (later named the “Easter Bunny”) hiding eggs in a garden was published in 1680.

The tradition continues.  Our family gets together at a local restaurant and celebrates.  We selected Seasons 52 because Downtown Disney is no longer being used by us.  Disney went wonk, and we are through with them!

Bob plays hide and seek with his orange juice glass!

The eight of us had a great meal and wonderful time sharing.

Bob, Nick, Donna, Robin are on the left, and Sarah, Mary, Paul, and Jon are on the right.

After lunch we went home and crashed!  It was a long day!

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Coloring Easter Eggs And A Family Get Together!

Posted on Saturday, April 16, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Easter lilies are a relatively new tradition. These beautiful blooms first originated in Japan and arrived in England in the late 18th century. The United States only caught onto the trend after World War I. The transition from dormant bulbs to delicate flowers brings to mind hope and rebirth, two important themes of the Easter celebration.

We were up early putting the final touches on the house and preparing for the onslaught.  You can see the fun on our regular Easter pages. We had everyone busy!

Stuffing the p[lastic eggs!

The final touches on the patio required everyone.  Noon arrived and we were read.  The doorbell sounded, trumpets thundered, and Scout barked!  The Grill-master arrived!

The Grill-master arrives!

Within a few minutes, everyone was in the pool!  We swam and dined for a good hour until it was time.

Click for the panoramic photo!

Jon hid the eggs and did a magnificent job hiding them in plain sight!

The eggs were found in a matter of minutes!

We even had a drone flyby!

The day was a resounding success, with everybody enjoying themselves.

We were pleased with the outcome!

We were tired afterward even though we were totally cleaned up.  The kids/grandkids did everything, all we had to do was start the dishwasher!  We decided to go to Jan’s for a visit and then to Aces for one last glass of vino!

Jon would come to the Phoenix Club with us so Jan knew him!

Then to Aces for a demonstration of “the three-second beer”.

Put a fork in us, we are done!!

Returning home, we all went into the pool since it was warm and ended up in the swim spa.  We finally crashed at 11:30 PM!

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Gettin’ Ready Day!

Posted on Friday, April 15, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Humans Are Also the Only Animals Whose Brains Shrink! As we get older, our brains tend to shrink and can suffer from cognitive dysfunction like Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. But as best researchers can tell, we are the only animals to whom this shrinkage happens. Tests on other animals have found no similar phenomena—even close evolutionary relatives like chimpanzees and rhesus monkeys.

We spent the day getting ready for the party tomorrow.  Tom came over, and he did several handyman chores, which is difficult for me with sciatica going wild. We went shopping at Ralph’s for last-minute items such as ice!  I felt like I should tease someone, so this is what I did!

The Devil made me do it!

We sat up the tables and cha in the afternoon, cleaned up the patio, and put candy and money in the plastic easter eggs.  We tried to get the money clean, but after four different methods, we decided clean, bright money was not needed. 

We are doing the eggs!

We got the tables and chairs ready to go and dusted them off.  We can seat 25 quite easily!

Set up and ready to go!

Scout was there to assist.

Scout is expecting company.

Scout was waiting for company.

We declared victory and decided to visit Jan.

I hope it is warm tomorrow!

Everything is ready to go!

Scout is on guard duty.

The pool is 87 degrees, so that will be great should the weather turn cold!

The pool is 87 degrees!

Returning from Jan’s, we jumped into the pool and watched the moon go across the sky.  We stayed in the water until about prune:thirty!  I never had so many wrinkles in my entire life!

We watched a movie and then at midnight came “the knock.”  The kids have arrived.  Sarah and Jon put away their bags, and we gave them a quick tour of the house and the yard should they wake up before us. We wanted them to have an idea of where they were.

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It’s Bidet Day! No It’s Gym Day! We Gotta Go!

Posted on Thursday, April 14, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt once sneaked out of a White House event and commandeered an airplane. The two women went on a joyride to Baltimore.

Oh No!  It’s gym day!  We got to exercise!  I keep thinking to myself, if God had wanted me to touch my toes, he would have put them on my knees. Imagine getting out of a nice warm bed and driving through the sleet and snow to torment your body with strange machines; we must be goofy!

We had to go to the gym; I was sinking!

The gym was good today but the sciatica was hitting me so I did a reduced program; Mary carried on and did all the machines!

You may hear the police sirens in the background, they are trying to pull her over for speeding!

We departed the gym and headed for home to feed the baby before dropping him off at the groomers.  Scout needed to be “pretty” for Saturday when everyone is coming to see him at the Easter egg annual shindig!

We dropped him off at 10:45 AM and then we headed for the Santa Ana Elks for “Girls Night Out”.  We had a good group and the kibitzing level was running 9.5 on a scale of ten.  Connor joined us today so we had a good hour to chat with him.

At the Santa Ana Elks.

From the Elks we went home and Dr. Mary decided to check her eyelids for light leaks!

While she was asleep, I went to the doggy store and retrieved the pooch and boy did he smell great!  He is ready for the party!!

Z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z

After her nap, Robin was here and the three of us workedin the kitchen.  I had a big jar of old coins, and I mean old. We were gonna put these in plastic eggs for the kids to hunt on Saturday but I didn’t wanna put dirty money inside the eggs so, we decided to boil them and we did for quite a while it cleaned up a lot of the chocolate was on the coins.

Change for the kiddies.

Mary begin the process of hard boiling 50 eggs so we’d have enough for coloring on Saturday. 50 should be enough since not all the adults will do the coloring.

We hard boiled fifty eggs.

Robin Mary and I chopped sliced and diced all sorts of goodies for the chicken miso soup that we were going to make this evening. It took longer than we thought so I command decision was made; off to In-N-Out Burger for dinner. Good decision if I don’t say so myself.

In line for In-N-Out

Yummy yummy good for the tummy. We asked for extra crispy french fries and I think the overachieved. We ate the hamburgers and then decided we would watch a movie.

We took a vote and decided to watch “Die Hard” since we hadn’t seen it for quite a while. The movie was from the mid 1980s and everybody sure looked young.

 

Dinner is served

We all crashed around 10 PM after checking the pool which was at a nice 85°; it is ready for Saturday and the permits.

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Hump Day And All Is Well!

Posted on Wednesday, April 13, 2022 by Paul

Fact: In German, the word for Wednesday (Mittwoch) is the only day of the week not to end with “tag,” which means “day.”.

Dang! People come and go all day.  We decided to go to Rockwell’s for breakfast, and we shared a meal; we are both watching our weight.

The doorbell rang; who could it be?  Tom, our handyman, had lost our phone number, so he stopped by.  We met his mother, and that was quite pleasant.  We talked for about thirty minutes before we departed for our daily errands.

Before we departed, I saw Scout looking into the hallway mirror and giggling to himself.  Yes, dogs do giggle!

Isn’t it the truth!!

We then went to Ralph’s to shop for Easter egg day this Saturday.  This will be the second time Mary and the family have gotten together to color eggs.   I had to ask myself, “Why do we paint Easter eggs? Because it’s easier than trying to wallpaper them!”

This time it is at our home. We came back with $400 in goodies, and we have enough to feed the 3rd Army for a week.

Working on getting totally retired!

Ralphs Market is very close to Jan’s house, so we decided to stop by and say hello. We brought her some sushi from her favorite sushi bar and some potato chips; we call that health food.

We discussed the party, and Jan asked us, “What’s the best way to make Easter easier?”  We did not have a clue, so she said, “ Put an “i” where the “t” is!”

On the phone again, it’s a famous country-western song.

Today, Jan was in rare form and decided she didn’t want her picture taken; I have no idea why. We talked about cooking and that last night’s split pea soup was “restaurant quality.”  That made Dr. Mary get a big smile on her face!

We love our visits with Jan.

When we got home, I began unloading the van, and it was full. This is about 1/2 of the groceries we picked up today, and I had to stop to catch my breath. Mary put everything away, and I just carried it in from the van.

Come one, come all, it will be one heck of a party!

We got home at 2:30 PM, just in time to put away the groceries before the delivery guys came.  We have a new washer-dryer.  It was a little sad to see the old guys hauled off, but they served us well for a quarter of a century!

Goodbye, old friends!

We did a load of wash in the new one but damn, it was complex!  We couldn’t figure out why it didn’t have enough water in it until we looked at the manual, and it said, “the washer automatically measures the weight of your wash and puts just enough water in to do the job .”  Whatever it was doing, it seemed to work as we did a load of clothes, and they came out just fine, but the water barely covered the close as we could watch it to the glass opening in the top of the washer.

Mary wanted to know if I knew any laundry puns, and I told her that I’ve got loads of them.  After washing all the clothes, I accidentally dropped all the laundry, and I witnessed all of it unfold.

Mary and I work as a team.  I do her laundry, and she does mine. I guess we both were maid for each other.

Domi (Domilita) and the girls came at about 3 o’clock and stayed for a couple of hours.  They did an excellent job and enjoyed taking care of Scout The Wonder Dog. While she and her gang were cleaning, we worked in the yard.  I moved our rubber tree from the back yard to the front, and Mary dead-headed the roses.

The flowers will be beautiful on Saturday!

We had a little dinner and then got ready to go dancing.  Well, that was a flop!  As I got up for the first dance, sciatica kicked in, and I could not even walk.  We stayed for about an hour to listen to the excellent music before going home and getting horizontal.

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Work, Cook, Gym, Cook, Visit, Sleep; It Was A Full Day!

Posted on Tuesday, April 12, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Squirrels cause approximately 10-20% of US power outages.  Squirrels cause about 10-20% of US power outages.  Harmless and cute as they seem, these fuzzy little creatures aren’t as innocent as you think!  Squirrels tend to chew things, but combine this with power lines, and there will be a problem.

 

The calendar notified me today that I have been retired for 5,000 days!

Guests are coming, so we have a list of things to do before they get here.  PLUS, we have twenty folks over for Easter egg coloring on Saturday.  Needless to say, we were up and moving by 7:00 AM.

Mary tackled two more boxes in the office while I worked in the garage, putting rollers/casters on the storage racks!  We had a small lunch and after that serious work began.

Just as I thought things were normal, Scout comes crawling up to me wearing a parabolic dish on his head!  Where in the world did that crazy dog get the idea?

I wondered how Scout got the idea to wear a dish on his head!

After lunch, Dr. Mary headed for the stove, and then her hand was a package of green split peas.  I like that she’s very thrifty, but broken pieces of peas seem a little odd to save a few cents.  I asked what she was up to, and she said, “I’m gonna make split pea soup” I offered to go out to the market and get full-sized peas that would not be broken, but she insisted.

Dr. Cook-em-up hard at work!

At 3:00 PM, we headed to the gym for our hour work-out!  Today I pushed a little harder and I could feel it on our way home.

After arriving home, I when to the backyard to adjust the sprinklers ensuring that the zucchini had proper water.  I heard this bloodcurdling scream from the kitchen.  Needless to say, I dropped everything and ran full speed for the kitchen arriving just in time to hear Mary say, “I need a chopper.”

Well, I responded by reaching for the phone and calling the local airport, but she grabbed my hand just before I was going to answer the question from the helicopter man, “what can I do for you today?”

I did ask Mary if she was going to put alphabet pasta in the soup.  The doctor said, “If you have the alphabet soup, you will have great vowel movement.”  She decided not to use alphabet pasta because if you spill it, it could spell disaster”.

Mary wanted me to use my culinary skills with the knife to lay waste to several different vegetables she planned to use, and here I thought I was going to go for a helicopter ride!

Sliced and diced and chopped and shredded; the sound could be heard throughout the neighborhood.  The results of my effort were put into this large pan, and Mary simmered it for the next half hour.  I swear I saw a couple of bat wings in the concoction.

It looked delicious, and the aroma wafted throughout the house.

I prepared the artichokes for dinner tonight.  They were beautiful; the best chokes I have seen all year!  I was going to ask Mary to make potato-leek soup next time, but I had this vision appear before me!

My next task was plucking the artichokes.  I removed all the feathers and then proceeded to trim the leaves.  Into a pot of hot water for forty minutes, and they will be ready.

Artichokes are my department.

The brew had to simmer for a while before we could eat; it was difficult to smell the aroma and not grab a spoon and dig in!

The final step!

When we had dinner, it was a banquet, no, a feast!  That soup was to die for!  We had two bowls, and we were so full that we didn’t even eat the artichokes.

I mentioned to Mary that she might sell this magnificent broth.  She could become a bouillonaire.

We decided to go to Jan’s and bring her some soup, apple sauce, and artichoke.  We had a glass of wine with Jan, and she tasted the soup; she raved about it.

We hit the sack early, and later on that evening, we got a call from Jan.  She said, “Hello, I would like to place an order for 3 quarts of your soup plus four artichokes”.  We had a good laugh!

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Monday We Were Freeway Flyers!

Posted on Monday, April 11, 2022 by Paul

Fact: The Interstate Highway System stretches 47,622 miles and includes 10 transcontinental routes varying from 18 miles to 3,000 miles.

  • Longest: I-90, 3,085.3 miles (Seattle to Boston)
  • Shortest: I-97, 17.6 miles (Annapolis to Baltimore, Maryland)

We were up by 7 AM this morning and worked in the office for a while just passing time until we were going to leave for banning. We departed our house at 10 AM and stop by the market to get some goodies for Annie and Virgil. We arrived in banning at about 11:15 AM and get a good our chance to visit with them.

They are looking pretty good for being in their mid 90s.

Mary has been friends with them for many many years and now we go out to visit them every couple weeks as their health is beginning to deteriorate. Very nice people and I enjoy the visit along with Mary.

Friends for twenty+ years!

They showed us the cactus that Mary gave them almost three years ago. It blooms with beautiful blossoms about every six months and we happen to be there at the time it was blooming.

Mary gave Annie this cactus about three years ago and it blooms all the time but with teeny tiny flowers.

We left for home around 1 o’clock and traffic was not bad at all for the time of the afternoon. We came down the five to the 60 to the 91 to the 55 and then a few blocks east and we were home. GPS says that the trip is 60 miles each way and we generally make it within an hour.

There was a wind warning in effect and we could tell by simply looking at our flag. The Easter flag was flying beautifully this afternoon. That flag is very heavy since it has two sides with different text and images on each.

The flags were really flying by the time we got home.

Mary fixed a small snack for us to have and then we headed over to Jan’s house to visit for a while. I mentioned to Jan that I was going to buy a large marble table so I can begin to make bread. Mine broke in the move and then when I got to replace it it’s now on the formal dining room table. Well, as it happens, Jan had a beautiful white and gray marble pad which was perfect for our kitchen. I’m going to make some bread tomorrow or I might try the mushroom and sauerkraut pierogies, seems like an interesting recipe.

We did not go into the hot tub this evening because both of us were tired. Mary crashed 8 PM and I followed suit at around 9:30 PM.

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