Christmas Is In The Garage And Ready To Go Up For The Next Eleven Months!

Posted on Tuesday, January 4, 2022 by Paul

Fact: The first person convicted of speeding was going eight mph—Walter Arnold of the English village of Paddock Wood, Kent. On Jan. 28, 1896, Arnold was spotted going four times the speed limit in his 19th-century Benz—but since the speed limit at the time was just two miles per hour, that meant he was not going too fast by today’s standards. The constable had to chase him down on his bicycle, issuing a ticket for £4 7s and earning Arnold the speedy distinction.

We did it! We woke up at 6:30 AM, and we were done with the downstairs at 1:18 PM! We had brunch at Cucina de Côté, complete with a good BM (Bloody Mary for those of you who were shocked).

I got a cartoon from a friend, and it was too good to pass up! I stopped doing political things a while back, but this is a good reflection of what has happened in our crazy world; people believe this stuff!

Sometimes the truth is truly amazing!

We watched movies while working, including “Sleepless In Seattle” and “While You Were Asleep.”  We packed a box, and I would “roll it” to the garage. If all goes well, Juan will come and wash our cars, and he and his crew will put Christmas in the attic for me. It is worth $100 for twenty minutes of work any time of the day!!

This collection of boxes represents about 80% of the downstairs decorations!

When the downstairs was done, we sent Roomba out on a foraging mission; she returned with her tummy packed; twice!

At 3:25 PM, we headed upstairs to take down the decorations from our holiday tree and get it ready for hearts and Valentine’s Day. I ordered the Valentine’s Day flag this morning, and it should arrive in a few days.

We worked until about 7:30 PM taking down all the decorations from the tree and wrapping everything up.   I moved our 37″ TV upstairs, and we watched movies while doing the work. I was so happy that I ordered a 50″ Toshiba Alexa/Firestick-ready TV just for upstairs, and it should arrive Friday. They are so cheap these days it is incredible.

In the future, instead of cleaning the house, I plan to watch an episode of Hoarders and think, “well, my house looks great!”

Dr. Mary was hard at work; I did a lot of sitting this evening as sciatica gave me fits.

We had more upstairs than I remembered; we do not go upstairs a lot! You can see the little TV on the table; I will mount the new one to the wall, easy to do!

Put away on the bench; Friday, we will put in the attic storage areas.

I swept up under the tree, and we only broke one ornament this year. I asked Mary, “Why was the broom late for work?” After getting the “mommy-look,” I responded, “It over-swept.”

We returned to civilization, sat at the dining room table, and shared a glass of wine before going off to bed. I continued reading “Blind Man’s Bluff,” and Mary read a Dr. Laura book. We turned off the lights at 11:30 PM.

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Down Christmas Down!

Posted on Monday, January 3, 2022 by Paul

Fact: The world wastes about 1 billion metric tons of food each year. According to the Food Waste Index Report 2021, which surveyed 54 countries, finding that the majority of wasted food (61%) comes from homes while restaurants and other food services produce 26% of wasted food. Grocery stores make up just 13% of food waste.

We were up at 6:30 AM and started again packing Christmas away.  We worked without stopping until 1:30 PM when we had lunch.  Out goal is to be done by Wednesday morning as that is the time our cleaning folks come to face the disaster!

The living room is 95% done!

Now we started on the Kitch and Family Room which took about five hours to tear down and put away in the garage; I am hiring someone to put it into the attic!

So far we have sixteen boxes and we still have not yet done upstairs or the remainder of the Family Room.

Lunch break was a welcomed stopping point!  My little elfs was about too pooped to pop!

My little elf was tired after working all day!

There was a Christmas miracle of sorts.  Mary found my New Year 2000 electrical guys who wishes everyone Happy New Year; it was still alive and working and the batteries were twenty-one years old!

We got cleaned up and went to Mary’s PT and while she exercised I read about installing insulation in the attic.  We then did a fly-by at Bill’s to bring him some goodies and on the way home, we stopped at Jan’s bringing her some goodies.  At Jan’s we stayed and had some wine and cheese and crackers; we had an excellent visit.

My sciatica was so bad we went directly home from Jan’s and I went horizontal hope a night’s rest would put me back in shape for the mad dash to completion before Wednesday morning.

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Christmas Begins It’s Trip To The Attic

Posted on Sunday, January 2, 2022 by Paul

The sun peak out over the horizon and thought, “OMG, today everyone is putting Christmas up; maybe I will go back down for a couple of hours!”.

Oops! It’s all about how you look at things!

Today we face an almost impossible task; putting our combined Christmas away until next year. We started with a cup of coffee and then got into our grubbies and hit the Living Room (or TV Room) with a stack of empty boxes.

This year, we will label everything, put things away by room, and remove the batteries out of the electrical goodies. It’s the first time Mary and I have done our combined things together; it is a challenge.

We worked until 4:00 PM and then departed for “The Old Car Guys” dinner in La Palma, where we visited many people, including David and Dianne.

Returning home, it was dark, and we decided movies would be our entertainment. We watched two movies and a four-part series before crashing at midnight.

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We Survived!

Posted on Saturday, January 1, 2022 by Paul

We made it home safely

Few people know that the bottles of wine we consume is actually an apple-juice and water mixture so we can act crazy and still be sover!  It;s an old trick I have used for years!

The next morning Robin and Bob came over with Hoppin John, a southern dish for good luck.

Did You Know? Hoppin’ John, also known as Carolina peas and rice, is a rice and beans dish of legendary origins associated with the cuisine of the Southern United States. Similar dishes are found in regions with a significant African-origin demographic like Louisiana red beans and rice. The Carolina version is known for the addition of bacon and other kinds of pork.

The starchy long-grain Carolina rice that is used in this meal must be washed well and cooked in bacon fat with onions until the grains are translucent before it is simmered with the parboiled black-eyed peas or Sea Island red peas and some chopped ham, ham hock or pork sausage. To finish the one-pot meal, the rice, having absorbed all the cooking liquid, is left to steam using the paper towel method for around 10 minutes and it is fluffed before serving. Some recipes use ham hock, fatback, country sausage, or smoked turkey parts instead of bacon. A few use green peppers or vinegar and spices. Smaller than black-eyed peas, field peas are used in the South Carolina Lowcountry and coastal Georgia. Black-eyed peas are the norm elsewhere.

In the southern United States, eating Hoppin’ John with collard greens on New Year’s Day is thought to bring a prosperous year filled with luck.

Caught, we were resting!

Bob had the evidence!  Oh my, that could NOT have been us, right?

We relived the evening!

It was recorded for history and Robin and Mary re-enact the crime! Older Elks were shocked!!

More dancing?????

Time to eat some Hoppin’ John!!

Just us!

Plus we had Hoppin John courtesy of Robin!

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Good Bye 2021; Do Not Come Back!

Posted on Friday, December 31, 2021 by Paul

What are two things dinosaurs can’t have for dinner? Breakfast and lunch.

The forecast says no rain today; how can that be? We will check out the house and make sure all is well after the past three days of rainfall. Then all we have to do is get ready to go to the Santa Ana Elks this evening.

While working around the house, Mary told me she and another surgeon were sitting down having lunch just before she retired. She said they both were engaged in a conversation when all of a sudden, the other surgeon started laughing hysterically. A dermatologist walks over to their table to join them. He asked the two surgeons, “what’s so funny?” Mary replied, ” you wouldn’t understand. It’s an inside joke. ”

We sat with Connor and Josie (our grandson), Bob and Donna, Iris and Will, and Ed and Betty. The next table will be the Capps, Branders, Ash’s, and Ennis’s.

Great fun ahead!

We both went to the beauty parlor at 11:00 AM; it took her 20 minutes to make me look barely presentable. I did remove the Ralph’s bag off my head after I departed the salon. Mary sat in the chair and said, “Come back in two hours!”   She looked amazing when I returned.

On the way home, I announced, “May all your troubles last as long as your New Years’ resolutions!”

Mary had her hair done in the Great Gatsby style, which took about three hours, so I took her to “lunch” at Rockwell’s before we came home to get gussied up for the evening’s festivities. On yes, I forgot, I had to be pretty also!

 

I had to be pretty!

Join the fun at our website. We had a load of fun with our friends and danced until the wee hours, about 11:30 PM. I was lucky to be there with the most beautiful lady in the lodge.

Just us?

Connor joined us for a while; at least I know he had a good dinner!

Connor joined us this evening.

Serious smooching occurred throughout the evening. There was also some serious dancing.

Smooching time!

We danced, she danced, we danced; all evening long!

We got home about three minutes to midnight and were asleep three minutes after midnight.

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The Last Day Of Rain For A Week!

Posted on Thursday, December 30, 2021 by Paul

Why don’t sheep shrink when it rains?

We had no big plans today except to walk the dog. We got Scout boots so we would not slip around the house and also so he would keep his feet warm on walks. He should have been a model!

After the walk, we went to Girls Night Out at the Santa Ana Elks Lodge and met with the gang. We shared a Hawaiian prime rib and a broiled cod; they were exceptionally well prepared, top-notch!

Mary made potato soup yesterday, and we did a fly-by at Jan’s to deliver a container of soup! We made another fly-by before arriving at the Elks. Our friend Bill has some serious health issues, and he appreciates homemade meals.

The ladies had their hats on, and that did require a picture!  I told the girls, “A crown is merely a hat that lets the rain in.”.

You are looking, good ladies!

At work, just before I retired, I constantly found my lunch to be missing from the lunchroom fridge. I decided to get back at this thief, so I began making two lunches; one with a very strong laxative, and the other without. I hid my regular lunch towards the back of the fridge, wrote my name on both of these bags. Needless to say, weight gain and terrible diarrhea are bad ways to discover I have Alzheimer’s.

After Girls Night Out, we headed home to continue working around the house and getting ready for New Year’s Eve. I decided to be the designated driver for the evening.

We watched two movies; one was Hugo, and the other was Christmas Break-In.

Hugo is a 2011 American adventure drama film directed and produced by Martin Scorsese and adapted for the screen by John Logan. Based on Brian Selznick’s 2007 book The Invention of Hugo Cabret tells the story of a boy who lives alone in the Gare Montparnasse railway station in Paris in the 1930s, only to become embroiled in a mystery surrounding his late father’s automaton and the pioneering filmmaker Georges Méliès.

We finally crashed about 11:00 PM; tomorrow is a big day!

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Work Work Work; Phooey!

Posted on Wednesday, December 29, 2021 by Paul

What kind of exercise do lazy people do? Diddly-squats.

I woke up a little early and put together two web pages in the Christmas 2021 collection.  They are Girls Night Out 12/23  and Just Us At Christmas. When I was done, I went back to bed; it was cold!

We woke up to sunshine, not a cloud in the sky. The forecaster said it would rain at 2:00 PM, and he was correct; it rained most of the day. We went to PT for Mary, and I got my appointments for my leg nerves.

Mary and I have appointments together for the next couple of weeks!

We then went to “The Original Pancake House” and got breakfast which we promptly took to Jan’s house and shared with her.

When we returned home, our cleaners had just departed, and mMAry headed for the kitchen to make potato soup while I headed for the garage to find the top of the workbench!

The UPS guy showed up, and now Baby has new shoes; this should help him walk around the house.

“No more sliding! What am I going to do for fun?”

We talked to Colleen and watched “The Bishops Wife” and then “Send Me No Flowers” on the TV in the kitchen. We did not have dinner, and the one glass of wine hit me like a ton of bricks. Always remember, “Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them, and you have their shoes.”

We crashed at 8:15 PM, and I did not get up until 7:00 AM the following day.

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Five Months Today; Every Day Gets Better!

Posted on Tuesday, December 28, 2021 by Paul

What do you call a noodle that doesn’t drink? Soba.

Yes, indeed, it has been five special months since we tied the knot, and things get better every day! We worked in the office and then went to Mary’s PT via the bank. It was a rainy morning, so we took extra precautions. Leave sooner, drive slower, live longer.

On the way home, we decided to go home and have Aces leftovers, plus we augmented it with a tamale and shared a small glass of wine. The rest of the afternoon was devoted to the office and getting ready for this evening’s adventure; Riverside’s Mission Inn with the Duda’s.

On the way to the Duda’s, we passed an airport which made me remind Mary that a century ago, two brothers decided it was possible to fly. And as you can see, they were Wright.

We departed for Robin and Bob’s at 2:45 PM, and the freeway was not too bad. We arrived at 3:30 PM, which was right on schedule.

Ladies in front of the Disney tree!

Mary and I get our turn after seeing this year’s addition to the tree. We saw our addition to the tree, a Space Shuttle.

Just us.

The classic tree is in the den, and we captured the Duda’s getting ready to depart for Riverside. We know it will be cold, so I told them of my activity this morning. I said, “The weather was so cold I had to scrape ice off my windshield this morning. I used my Ralph’s Market grocery card and only got 10% off.”

The Duda’s are ready to go!

We arrived safely, and Bob drove and took the Avalon!

Glenwood Cottage, built by engineer/surveyor Christopher Columbus Miller and on November 22, 1876, the Millers took their first paying guest. In February 1880, Miller’s son Frank Augustus Miller purchased the hotel and land from his father. It became into a full-service hotel in the early 1900s due to California’s economic citrus boom and warm weather, attracting wealthy travelers and investors from East Coast and Europe.[4] In 1902, Frank changed the name to the “Glenwood Mission Inn” and started building in various styles until he died in 1935.

Riverside, California!

First things first, a drink! I ordered chardonnay that was $129 a bottle to see if it was good. Dang it, it WAS terrific.

Time foir a drinkie-poo! The kids enjoyed their putting, and we enjoyed being with them!

The background was busy, so I put the ol’ trusty iPhone into portrait mode and set it for “stage lighting,” and voila, not a bad picture considering.

Dinner at The Mission Inn

Do I tease my grandson Nick? Noooooo! However, I asked him to share mussels with me this evening, and to my surprise, he said, “Yes, if you can eat them little suckers, so can I!”  He and I downed a dozen of them before I had an urge to cling onto a rock.

I was puzzled by Nick’s question, “What kind of cars do shellfish drive?” I had no answer, so I waited to hear his brilliant answer. Nick said, “Grandpa, they drive Mussel cars.”

Brave soul; he tried the mussels with grandpa!

We exited the restaurant and took a walk around the area. I was using a cane as my Sciatica was acting up.

Sciatica is the pain going down the leg from the lower back. This pain may go down the back, outside, or front of the leg. Onset is often sudden following activities like heavy lifting, though gradual onset may also occur. The pain is often described as shooting. Typically, symptoms are only on one side of the body. Certain causes, however, may result in pain on both sides. Lower back pain is sometimes present. Weakness or numbness may occur in various parts of the affected leg and foot.

About 90% of Sciatica is due to a spinal disc herniation pressing on one of the lumbar or sacral nerve roots.[

Miss Mary enjoyed the evening.

There was outside dining at lunch because the rain covers were out, but tonight it was in the ’40s, and only snowmen eat outside in this weather.

Outside it was misting.

The Inn was not nearly as decorated as in previous years, but that was understandable with the COVID keeping many people home.

There were fewer decorations/lights than usual.

We walked down the street, and it too was sparse compared to previous years. The office building was decked out in lights, but the ice rink and other everyday activities we not evident. A thermometer indicated it was 44 degrees, and if the thermometer had been an inch longer, we’d all have frozen to death.

We took a short walk to see the lights.

How cold was it? Well, it was so cold, pickpockets were sticking their hands in strangers’ pockets to keep warm. I asked everyone, “What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire?” They looked puzzled until I replied, “Frostbite.”

Frosty watched everything.

We departed a little early and headed back to Corona. It was a lovely dinner with our fantastic family!

Hello Mission Inn.

We got home and turned on the heat; the house was 64 degrees. Scout went outside to do his thing and came back in very cold, and Daddy put a bankie on him to warm him up!

“Am I still pretty???”

Good night all!

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A Wonderfully Slow Day To Clean Up The Office!

Posted on Monday, December 27, 2021 by Paul

I always take my wife morning coffee in my pajamas. But is she grateful? No, she says she’d rather have it in a cup.

It’s Monday, and that means music from my younger days. I could not come up with one today, so I am sending you the “Best Of The 1950s”—great music; great times.

https://youtu.be/QfSgyoK4t-I

That’s all we did; we left the house for Mary’s PT.  On the way home, we went to Aces and Mary was a good little girl and had a nice salad.  I could not pass up the Aces Burger complete with a fried egg on it and a small salad.  The meal was good but we still have some remaining.

Other than that, we worked in the office. Housework is a treadmill from futility to oblivion with stop-offs at tedium and counter-productivity.

Mary is closing out all her paper worked for retirement, and I was on the search for bills and did the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day website pages.

We watched FINCH on TV and crashed about midnight.

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It’s Sunday And We Is Busy!

Posted on Sunday, December 26, 2021 by Paul

Busier than a one-eyed cat watching three mice holes.

We were up early and finished cleaning up after the Christmas celebration; there was not too much to do, primarily dishes and moving the tables and chairs back to their familiar resting places.

We watched our televangelist between 11:00 PM and noon while getting dressed for trip number one of the day.  We took the hot rod out to Banning, visited Annie, and exchanged Christmas gifts.  They are doing pretty well, considering all the ninety-year-old ailments.  It was colder than a well-diggers butt; the car indicated it was 51 degrees at 2:00 PM!

At 3:00 PM, we headed back because of COVID; we didn’t want to stay too long, and the traffic was pretty heavy, considering everyone was coming back into town from their Christmas trips.

Banning was cold; do you wonder why?

We had just enough time to water the dog, freshen up, and they headed to Rockwell’s, where we met up with Donna and Bob for dinner.  We killed off a glass of wine, had some great fun, and even exchanged some gifts that we had forgotten about yesterday!

Dinner at Rockwell’s in Villa Park

Now we are off like a shot again with Precious shooting flames from her exhaust, and I carefully managed to keep her just under the speed of light! As I entered the street, Mary said, “Remember Paul, stop lights timed for 35 mph are also timed for 70 mph.”

Well, I said right back to Mary, “OK, so what’s the speed of dark?”

Precious does not go fast; she invented fast!

We arrive at the dance about 7:15 PM, well ahead of what GPS predicted.  I had no idea Mary’s good could reach over the center console and land on top of mine.   Note to self: next time, wear Depends!

We danced and cavorted until 9:30, which has become our bewitching hour.

We celebrated December birthdays!

Steve and I collected all the girls

We got the girls to line up with Steve and I

They did a line dance, and I tried to remember, but alas, the mind was willing, but the feet would not cooperate.  I will get serious about the line dancing because it is fun!

We dashed directly home after the dance as we were both tired.  Mary dozed off so I could drive normally, just under the speed limit.  People honking their horns kept waking her up. Tomorrow is a day of rest!

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Merry Christmas 2021

Posted on Saturday, December 25, 2021 by Paul

It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.

OMG, Mary was up at 2:00 AM, 3:15 AM, 4:00 AM, 5:30 AM, and finally, 6:30 AM, looking for Santa. At 6:31 AM, I put a chocolate chip cookie into a plastic bag and told her it was from Santa!  I asked Mary what she wanted for Christmas, and she told me, “Nothing would make her happier than a diamond necklace,” So I bought her nothing.

We worked together, getting ready for our family to join us at 1:00 PM.  We are getting good at this entertaining thing because all was ready to go in a matter of minutes!  OK, perhaps not minutes!

The crew began arriving right on time, and we had more food than we knew what to do with spread out all over the kitchen.

We join together to celebrate the season.

The kitchen was filled to the brim with goodies, and it did not take much t get everyone up and moving.  I entered what I ate today into my new fitness app, and it just sent an ambulance to my house.

There was food as far as the eye could see.

I waited until last to go through the line and make my plate.   Since I had my gastric bypass surgery in 1998, I eat like a bird; unfortunately, that bird is a California condor.

Everybody enjoyed visiting and swapping stories about Christmas.

The family joined us.

Bob enjoys candlelight dinners. I told Bob the most stressful thing about being a dragon was trying to blow out the candles on a birthday cake.

I was sorry that I made Bob feel bad when I mentioned when a candle eats another candle, it is called candlebalism!

Bob lights the candles with his x-ray eyes.

Vicky brought a game; you ask questions, and people can respond to the question in two minutes.  We all took turns, and it was pretty funny!

Vicky brings a game to play.

Joe said he was a light eater.  As soon as it’s light, he starts to eat.  This trip was his fourth time through the line.

Chief food taster.

The giggling turned to belly laughs as the game went on!  Vicky now answers the question, “What was the craziest spoof you ever played on a co-worker?”

Hoots and hollers from the table on the right.

Mary had to come over and see what was going on.

Amy joins the fun.

Even the kids on in on the fun!

Mr. Helper is ready to go!

Nick tells a story!

Mary answered one of the questions.

“I love family.”

Bob and Donna added to the enjoyment of the party.

Bob always brings delight to the party.

Now is is time to have the questions, “When did your parents lie to you?” answered by Miss Donna!

The candles are getting low, meaning the evening is coming to an end.

It’s getting late.

The rains came again!

We cleaned up a little before going to bed; we were tired!

Twas the night before Christmas, but Covid was here,
So we all had to stay extra cautious this year.
Our masks were all hung by the chimney with care
In case Santa forgot his and needed a spare.
With Covid, we couldn’t leave cookies or cake
So we left Santa hand sanitizer to take.The children were sleeping, the brave little tots
The ones over 5 had just had their first shots,
And mom in her kerchief and me in my cap
Had just settled in for a long winter’s nap.
But we tossed and we turned all night in our beds
As visions of variants danced in our heads.Gamma and Delta and now Omicron
These Covid mutations that go on and on
I thought to myself, “If this doesn’t get better,
I’ll soon be familiar with every Greek letter”.

Then just as I started to drift off and doze
A clatter of noise from the front lawn arose.
I leapt from my bed and ran straight down the stair
I opened the door, and an old gent stood there.

His N 95 made him look pretty weird
But I knew who he was by his red suit and beard.
I kept six feet away but blurted out quick
” What are you doing here, jolly Saint Nick?”

Then I said, “Where’s your presents, your reindeer and sleigh ?
Don’t you know that tomorrow will be Christmas Day? “.
And Santa stood there looking sad in the snow
As he started to tell me a long tale of woe.

He said he’d been stuck at the North Pole alone
All his white collar elves had been working from home,
And most of the others said “Santa, don’t hire us!
We can live off the CERB now, thanks to the virus”.

Those left in the toyshop had little to do.
With supply chain disruptions, they could make nothing new.
And as for the reindeer, they’d all gone away.
None of them left to pull on his sleigh.

He said Dasher and Dancer were in quarantine,
Prancer and Vixen refused the vaccine,
Comet and Cupid were in ICU,
So were Donner and Blitzen, they may not pull through.

And Rudolph’s career can’t be resurrected.
With his shiny red nose, they all think he’s infected.
Even with his old sleigh, Santa couldn’t go far.
Every border to cross needs a new PCR.

Santa sighed as he told me how nice it would be
If children could once again sit on his knee.
He couldn’t care less if they’re naughty or nice
But they’d have to show proof that they’d had their shot twice.

But then the old twinkle returned to his eyes.
And he said that he’d brought me a Christmas surprise.
When I unwrapped the box and opened it wide,
Starlight and rainbows streamed out from inside.

Some letters whirled round and flew up to the sky
And they spelled out a word that was 40 feet high.
There first was an H, then an O, then a P,
Then I saw it spelled HOPE when it added the E.

“Christmas magic” said Santa as he smiled through his beard.
Then suddenly all of the reindeer appeared.
He jumped into his sleigh and he waved me good-bye,
Then he soared o’er the rooftops and into the sky.

I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight
“Get your vaccines my friends, Merry Christmas, good-night”.
Then I went back to bed and a sweet Christmas dream
Of a world when we’d finished with Covid 19.

 

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Christmas Minus One!!

Posted on Friday, December 24, 2021 by Paul

If at least two family members remain incarcerated, we won’t have to put the leaf in the table.

When I got up this morning, it was raining so hard the animals were starting to pair up. Scout wanted out, of course, so he made a bee-line for the south forty, did his thing, and returned like a rocket.  He went to the towel and said, “Please dry me,” in his best Australian Shepard accent. I contemplated tossing him into the dryer on “delicate,” but he is too heavy!

Let it rain; let it rain; let it rain! (7:05 AM)

Joe called at 9:00 AM, and he was out front of the house with the boys; he was ready to install the radiant barrier in the garage attic.  We spent two hours and got it all installed, complete with a lot of laughing and giggling.  The boys were a big help since they could fit into places where Joe and I might have 50 years ago!

Charlie, Alex, and Joe worked two hours putting up the barrier!

We taught Charlie and Alex to read measuring devices, calculate distances, and mark the studs to have the barrier guard straight. The material Joe got was a commercial-grade capable of reflecting 87% of the heat coming through the roof right back to the roof and thus keep the attic much cooler.

The boys get lessons in using tools and making and marking measurements.

The material was quite thick, and we could not tear it with our bare hands.  Now that I have seen it done, I believe I will attack my house attic while it is wintertime and the attic is cool! I just need about 4,000 square feet of material and an electric or pneumatic staple gun!

One hundred sixty linear feet installed in two hours!

At 11:00  AM, we were done, and they were on their way.  I jumped into the shower and got ready to go to Roger’s Gardens with Robin and Bob, and of course, Miss Mary!  You know, I am one bottle of shower gel away from being able to open my own Christmas gift shop in my shower.

We had a break in the weather, so we turned on the balloons, and they stood proud!

The rain has passed for a little while anyway.

We arrived at Rogers almost on schedule, but who is counting?  We talked about Mary and retirement on the way there, and she told us about her meeting Santa for an eye examination a few years back!

Oh, Dear!

12:42 PM, and all is well.  We are ready to enter Roger’s and find some last minutes treasures!  I reminded everyone, “There are three phrases that sum up Christmas: Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men, and Batteries Not Included.”

We arrive at Roger’s Gardens.

We walked the gardens, and then Sant’s two mischievous elves turned on him and dressed him up with masks and dark glasses.  After seeing these two in action, I asked Bob. “What do you call Santa’s helpers?” Then I told him, “Subordinate Clauses.”

Pestering Santa

Who is that masked photobomber? Mary and Santa are both safe!  As we walked through the buildings and displays, the Christmas tree decorations looked treemendous!

Mary is a professional photobomber.

What do you call a holiday gift when it dies? The Ghost of Christmas Present.

After a successful shopping spree at Roger’s, we headed to the Santa Ana Elks for the traditional Tom & Jerry afternoon.

Tom & Jerry’s being prepared.

We had a table for us, the Duda’s and the Capps.  Mary, Mary, and Robin just gossiped up a storm!

The girls enjoyed visiting!

We guys, on the other hand, were very quiet and reserved.  I remember telling Bill, “Christmas is a baby shower that went totally overboard.”

Bill responded, “The Supreme Court has ruled that they cannot have a nativity scene in Washington D.C. This wasn’t for any religious reasons. They couldn’t find three wise men and a virgin.”

We were talking about growing up, and I mentioned that when I was a child, my family was so poor that at Christmas, we exchanged glances.

Trading jokes and solving the world’s problems!

I did ask Bill about the new hybrid sleighs since he is up on all the latest technology!

Oh, dear!

A Tom and Jerry is a traditional Christmastime cocktail in the United States, sometimes attributed to British writer Pierce Egan in the 1820s. It is a variant of eggnog with brandy and rum added and served hot, usually in a mug or a bowl.

Another method uses egg whites, beaten stiff, with the yolks and sugar folded back in, and optionally vanilla extract added. A few spoonfuls are added to a mug, then hot milk and rum are added and topped with nutmeg.

After the Tom & Jerry’s, we went home to await the delivery of tomorrow’s dinner from Yang Ming.  We could not imagine a Chinese restaurant not opening on Christmas day!  When we found out there were closed, we asked the Zaitz, Armstrongs, Dudas, and Liles to celebrate in our home with “The Christmas Story” running on the TV.

The Chinese have arrived delivered personally by One-Hung-Low!.

Then we decided to go to Aces for dinner, a massive failure; they closed at 4:00 PM, and we arrived at 4:15 PM.  We then went to Rockwell’s, and only the bar was open that would be fine for me, but the Duda’s and Mary were hungry.  So, we went to Yang Mings and had a wonderful dinner!  We ordered more food from them to ensure we had meals that did not have gluten in them for Lisa.

We giggled up a storm, as usual! Bob and I ran to the market and got last-minute supplies for tomorrow!

Ah, the lovers were doing their thing!  We are fortunate to have found one another, and it is our second Christmas together.

Just us!

I got her tickled, and she could not stop laughing!

Decisions decisions

Bob and Robin took off for home to have dinner with their son Nick and we made sure they had plenty of goodies.  We got a call from the Reidy’s, and they said they were coming over; we fed them Chinese dinner and swapped stories well into the wee hours.  (Wee hours at our age is about 9:30 PM).

Dianne was reading the contents of a box of chocolates, so I let to video run!

We stayed up about another hour and then crashed to be ready for tomorrow.  We have about fifteen folks over for an afternoon of dining, singing, dancing, and other festivities.

 

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Christmas Minus One And Counting!

Posted on Thursday, December 23, 2021 by Paul

A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and accepts you just the way you are.

Thursday means “Girls Night Out” at the Santa Ana Elks Lodge.  We had a party going today with three tables put together and as many conversations going on simultaneously!

Christmas: It’s the only religious holiday that’s also a federal holiday. That way, Christians can go to their services, and everyone else can sit at home and reflect on the true meaning of the separation of church and state.

Almost everyone was here today, but we missed Bad Mike.  Chino to Santa Ana in the rain is quite a drive, so he got a pass today! Remember, alcohol may be man’s worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy.

Donna and Bob  Z gave me a photo frame for my birthday, and we used it! It’s easy to change pictures, so we will hang it in a prominent place in the house.

We indeed are!

We dropped off Mr. Scout, The Wonder Dog, at the beauty parlor on our way to the Elks.  He wanted to be pretty for our holiday guests. But even before that, Scout wanted to visit Santa; their exchange was memorable!

Santa speaks fluent Australian Shephard!  Note: Marvin plays the part of Scout

We got over two inches of rain this morning and last night, as evidenced by the pool almost to the top; it is probably because we are located between several hills, and the rain gets squeezed out of the clouds as they pass overhead.

Today I had the camera out and captured everyone in their natural habitat as we cavorted during “Girls Night Out.”  Mary, of course, was my first target of opportunity!

That’s my girl.

Robin took time from her busy work schedule to pop by and say hello to everyone.  She enjoyed the excellent food at the Lodge and thought the homemade chicken noodle soup was outstanding.  Robin told us, “On St. Patrick’s Day, I like to make believe I’m Irish. Just like at Christmas when I make believe I’m good.”

Robin joined us today.

The hat ladies were doing great today and apparently exchanged “footwear and wrap guidelines.”  I looked down and saw black tennis shoes; girls have all the fun!

They both got the memo.

Linda had her hat on, and of course, she shared the hat’s origins with the group.  I was going along with her until she got to the part of it being dropped by a Pterodactyl.

She is sharing the fun with everyone!

From Whittier, Mike and Linda join the fray.  Linda and Mary always have their hats on, making for great conversation!

Mike and Linda liven up the party!

I reminded Bob and Donna, “There are three stages of man: he believes in Santa Claus; he does not believe in Santa Claus; he is Santa Claus.” They agreed!

Bob and Donna Z, it was terrific to have Donna join us today!

Bob C. and Sydney G. made the end of the table come alive with their banter.  We asked them what they were going to have for lunch, and the reply was. “We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns, and syrup.”

Bob and Sydney.

We were dazed by Beverly joining us today as she is usually at the gym or working or doing something far less important.  Now she knows about the “Girls Night Out,” we are sure she will come back.

I heard Beverly lament, “It’s that special time of year when your whole family gathers together in one place to look at their cellphones.”

Beverly and George.

This lunchtime, the table was packed, and the Christmas cheer was in full force. We all talked about presents, and I mentioned that I once bought my kids a set of batteries for Christmas with a note saying, ‘Toys not included.

The gang has arrived.

I heard Bill C. say, “Aren’t we forgetting the true meaning of Christmas. You know, the birth of Santa?”

Today I restarted my waist-line reduction efforts, and instead of ribs and fries, I did salmon.  Sounds fishy.   It is working as I am back under 210 again and heading down to be fighting weight again!

Mary and I are having a joyous time being with family and friends.  She made two pies, baked cookies, and had been making deviled eggs for Charlie, our grandson!

Fun at the Elks!

We got a picture of Bill, who was with the Lodge Treasurer and our current Exhaulter Ruler as we departed.  Nice people!

These people keep the Lodge running!

After lunch, we headed home and picked up Mr. Brautiful on the way. k He pranced out of the beauty parlor and popped into the car like he owned it; well, he might?  It was raining pretty hard when we arrived home, and we had to drive the car into the garage before he would get out for fear of dampening his fur!

At 3:00 PM, we decided a nap was needed, and we turned on the TV to a Christmas movie that usually puts us to sleep.  Well, we bing watched Christmas movies until 8:00 PM when my eyeballs nearly fell out of their sockets.  We went to the kitchen, and Mary did some more cooking while I finished today’s Daily Diary.

The baby wanted out before he hit the sack, so he boogied out into the pouring rain, and when he came back, we dried him off!

“Am I still pretty???”

We crashed at 9:45 PM and read a while before the Sandman came by.  At midnight the rain was coming down so hard I woke up and walked the house to make sure all was dry!  The pool is inches from overflow, so we are upwards of four inches today.

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Christmas Minus Two!

Posted on Thursday, December 23, 2021 by Paul

Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings, all the snow in Alaska won’t make it ‘white.’

We are so organized it’s sickening.  Everything is carefully laid out on a legal pad and has a time associated with it.  So, that means event one will blow up, sending uncontrollable ripples down the carefully thought-out script, and we may be celebrating Valentine’s Day before it is all over.

Mary and I are so much alike; it’s incredible!

We got Scout a toy that is a small fluffy dog with a bit of electronic device that sounds/feels like a heartbeat and a place to put a microwave-warmed pad in its tunny.  We are anxious to see what Scout thinks of this device.

We walked the yard before the rain came this morning, and everything looked good.  We also got the electrical bid for:

  • replacing the main panel to 200A 60 slot solar-ready panel,
  • adding a 220VAC outlet near the power box so I can use my arc-welder,
  • running 50 amp 220VAC sub-panels to the attic and garage
  • providing electrical plus and lights to the he/she sheds
  • changing the spa cutoff to a GFI/CB
  • running eclectic to the back of the property
  • changing plus to dual duplex instead of single duplex, and
  • half-dozen other electrical things.

Electrician trying to connect loose wires

It was about $10,000, so I will have him proceed.  When we bought the place, I had this in my plans, and I am getting too old to do it myself.  My son and grandson offered, but they have young families and are working hard, so we want them to enjoy their families!

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Christmas Minus Three!

Posted on Wednesday, December 22, 2021 by Paul

Santa Claus is anyone who loves another and seeks to make them happy; who gives himself by thought or word or deed in every gift that he bestows.

Today was abnormal; we did not do too much other than go to Mary’s PT, do some errands, cook up things for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and go into the spa before the rain arrives at 4:00 AM.  We decided to stay home on Christmas Day and order our Chinese food the evening before and warm it for Saturday.

Charlie gets his eggs for Christmas Day!

Christmas Eve, the Duda’s are coming over, and we are going to Roger’s and then to the Elks Lodge for a Tom & Jerry celebration.  We will be alone on Christmas Eve, so we will fire up the fireplace and make mulled wine and perogies and tamales; we are indeed international.

Do you remember “The Night Before Christmas”; in Spanglish?

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the casa,
not a creature was stirring – ¡Caramba! ¿Qué pasa?Los niños were tucked away in their camas,
some in long underwear, some in pijamas,
while hanging the stockings with mucho cuidado,
in hopes that old Santa would feel obligado,
to bring all children, both buenos and malos,
a nice batch of dulces and other regalos.Outside in the yard there arose un gran grito,
and I jumped to my feet like a frightened cabrito.
I ran to the window and looked out afuera,
and who in the world do you think that he era?
Saint Nick in a sleigh and a big red sombrero,
came dashing along like a loco bombero.
And pulling his sleigh instead of venados,
were eight little burros approaching volando.I watched as they came and this quaint little hombre,
was shouting and whistling and calling by nombre:
”Ay Pancho, ay Pepe, ay Cuco, ay Beto, ay Chato, ay Chopo,
Maruco, y Nieto!”Then standing erect with his hands on his pecho,
he flew to the top of our very own techo,
with his round little belly like a bowl of jalea,
he struggled to squeeze down our old chimenea.Then huffing and puffing at last in our sala,
with soot smeared all over his suit de gala,
he filled all the stockings with lively regalos,
none for the ninos that had been very malos.Then chuckling aloud, seeming very contento,
he turned like a flash and was gone como el viento,
and I heard him exclaim, y ¡esto es verdad!Merry Christmas to all, ¡y Feliz Navidad!

We cooked to get ready for the next few days of celebration and then went into the hot tub as it could rain for the next three days. Mary made a pot of beans, chocolate chip cookies, and made a delightful lunch.

Scout was beneficial and, as usual, worked himself silly, keeping the elephant out of the backyard. He and Moosie decided to take a nap right by the back door, so we could not sneak out.

He was resting with his baby moose!

We made some calls and finally decided to crash for the evening.  I had a teenie-tiny glass of wine, but Mary caught me; I know not how!

Next time I will wear purple jammies!

Good night all!

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Yeah Yeah Winter Started Today!

Posted on Tuesday, December 21, 2021 by Paul

Instead of giving gifts this year, I will give everyone my opinion?
Get ready for some real surprises!

Wow! Seems like last week!

Mary, my dear,  “What is a Christmas tree’s favorite candy?”  With great restraint, I blurted out, “Orna-mints.”  Mary just mumbled, “He wakes up this way; what shall I do?”

Well, the Daily Diary must continue to be published even though Santa had done his review and I just passed by the skin of my nose.  Maybe I will use the on-line dictionary.

I remember as a kid coming home to see that someone tore the front and back pages of my dictionary. It just went from bad to worse.

Santa says I must get better!  I told him, “I have *Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia” and he was sorry!

At 7:59 AM this morning, I introduced Mary to one of my newest traditions, and that is to jump into the cold pool at exactly the winter solstice and do a lap.  She went first screaming and yelling, and I said I follow her.

Did You Know? The winter solstice also called the hiemal, hibernal, and brumal solstice, occurs when either of Earth’s poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere.

Like the amazing trophy husband I am, I did NOT jump in behind her but went into the house, got some warm clothes and blankets, and turned on the fireplace.

I missed the cold water tradition this year.   As she got out, I was terrified as she was blue, but then I figured out it was her bathing suit!  She would have made a great addition to the Blue Man Group!

Scout, The Wonder Dog, sat inside the whole time and just shook his head!

I was sooooooo sorry!

I did remind her that the coldest month of the year in Los Angeles is December, with an average low of 48°F and a high of 67°F.

We went to Mary’s general practice doctor located in Seal Beach and then decided Old Ranch needed a December donation, so we stopped for brunch.  I am back to watching my intake, so I merely had a cup of chili and a small salad, and Mary did the soup of the day and a small salad.  We were filled and ready to go!  On the way out, I told Mary, “If you’ve seen one Santa, you’ve seen a mall.”

No ;ip[stoick – No picture!

We stopped by Bed, Bath, and Beyond to get some goodies, including a present for Scout, The Wonder Dog!  He is now officially eleven years old!  We also got him a new toy and some goodies for the house!

We then made a stop at Imperial Jewelers because I wanted Mary to pick out her Christmas present; there are some things I am just not good at!  What she selected was much better than the ant-farm I had originally planned for her!

We were in and out in a shot attempting to get home before 2:00 PM as Joe and Charlie were coming over to put up a radiant barrier in the garage.

Well, at 4:00 PM, we got a call from Joe, and Charlie was exposed to COVID-19, so I had a choice of getting the job done and staying in the house or doing it at a later time.  I chose the latter.

As evidenced by the picture below, our new avocado tree bit the bullet.  We bought life insurance on the tree because a) it was expensive and b) avocados are notorious for not liking to be transplanted.

RIP

We decided it was time to visit Jan and go to Home Depot, so we headed out.  We had a mix-up in dinner plans and thought tomorrow was dinner with Dan and Becky.  It was 5:30 PM, and we are in our grubbies, driving in the opposite direction from the restaurant.

Quickly I pulled the reins on The Silver Fox, and he did a 180-degree turn going 50 MPH; screeching tires, smoke, and a lot of yelling and screaming later, we were headed home.  Like Supergirl, Mary ran into her phonebooth and came out more beautiful.  On the other hand, I ducked into the dog house and came back our marginally acceptable.  At 5:47 PM, The Silver Fox was barreling down the highway on our way to Corona Del Mar.

Mary snapped a picture as the sun was setting, and I was at a stop sign.

Sundown, and we are on our way!

Mary remarked that she had never seen picket fences along our route; I told her they were telephone poles!

Oh no! Say it ain’t true!!

We squealed into the valet parking with minutes to spare and raced inside, grabbing a bar seat and attempting to look calm and relaxed.  The last I saw The Silver Fox was the valet putting water on the tires to cool them off.

I fastened the seat belt on the barstool and then asked the bartender, “Are people who are scared of Father Christmas Claustrophobic?”  I was promptly served a tall glass of water and shown the sign saying “We reserved the right to not serve crazy old men!”

Cool and calm!

We were seated first in the upstairs room.  We enjoyed a glass of wine before the kids arrived.  Becky and Dan joined us soon thereafter; they took a long walk to get to the restaurant.

Mary has been going through “stuff” that her kids made or brought home from school.  She has decided to send the essential items back in their direction.  Becky was excited to see her sixth-grade yearbook.

Ah, Becky liked her little surprises.

Becky asked if I had wrapped the presents. I told her, “If you’ve ever watched a butcher wrap pork chops, you’ve seen me wrapping Christmas presents.”

We all enjoyed a leisurely meal and laughed and giggled all evening long.  Dan likes red wine but didn’t want to drink it alone, so I assisted.  I told him I was dreaming of a white Christmas, but red would also be good!

Enjoying dinner with family.

On the way home, we continued our original plan and visited Jan.  We shared another glass of the grape at her home, and we chatted for quite a while.   I asked Jan, “Why is Santa so jolly?” She was not sure, so I told her, “It’s because he knows where all the naughty girls live.”

We did an after-dinner fly-by!

We talked about family, and I recounted the advice I gave my kids at Christmas time! I told my kids is that if you fart on Santa’s lap, he’s required by North Pole law to bring you two of everything you ask for. M-m-m-m-m, now I know why they always wanted tacos before we went shopping at the mall!

Good night all to all a good night!

? Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is one of the longest words in the dictionary — and, in an ironic twist, is the name for a fear of long words.

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The Week Has Begun; We Are Off And Running!

Posted on Monday, December 20, 2021 by Paul

“When you find that one that’s right for you, you feel like they were put there for you; you never want to be apart.”

Tomorrow at 78:59 AM Winter begins!

It’s Monday, so I will treat you to another “favorite tune” from my Christmastime childhood!

OMG, the grass is white.  When we arose, the weather station in our backyard indicated 34 degrees, so the grass was solid white.  Not quite snow, but close!

Today was relatively uneventful as we went to do chores around the house and went to Mary’s PT appointment.

We pulled up last year’s intimate dinner party, which we held at Mary’s old place; it was a lot of fun, and we will probably do it again soon!

“When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things – not the great occasions – give off the greatest glow of happiness.” – Bob Hope.

Last year’s dinner party!

While returning from a run to CVS, we stopped and snapped a couple of pictures of a house along Katella that Colleen fell in love with due to their over-s=achieving in the decorations department!

Colleen’s decorated house on Katella Blvd.

Our home is finally decorated for Christmas, with the only thing left is fixing two houses where the lights have burnt out. We replaced some picture decorations with new materials.  We are happy with our combined treasures and will do some serious repacking for next year.

Filling in our picture decorations with new pictures.

Joe bought me a roll thermal barrier insulation that he and I will install the barrier after the holidays.  We will do the top of my garage, where I have storage to protect the Christmas decorations from the heat while testing the insulation before we do the rest of the house.

We did some work in the office but more needed to be done.  We talked to Colleen and Robin on the bat-phone before settling down for a short winter’s nap!

I thought of Mary!

We attempted another Christmas movie, but it did not work; we have to start the movies in the afternoon if we will ever see one!

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Whoa Nellie; Time To Slow Down!

Posted on Sunday, December 19, 2021 by Paul

“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” – Dr. Seuss

This morning, we are sad as our daughter Colleen must return home to be with her family at Christmas.  We will miss her, but I will take better aim next time!  We took Colleen to Joe’s in La Mirada to get a chance to visit while driving to LAX.

Joe and the boys were readying the equipment for an outing.  We plan to join them once he sends the Lat/Long.

Mary loves camping and riding m otorcycles and quads!

We cobbled them together and took pictures.

Poor Amy; she is surrounded!

I am very proud of my son and his fantastic family.  As Amy always says to Joe, “Two wrongs don’t make a right; take your parents as an example.”

People say we look alike; generally, the people leaving with a red-tipped came in their hands!

Joe: “Dad, can you tell me what a solar eclipse is?”
Paul: “No sun.”

After a short visit with Joe and family, drove over to Bill’s, who is recovering from cancer and is alone.  Before leaving this morning, we packed up the remaining food items from the birthday party and put them in a cold container.  We visited Bill for a few minutes and then continued on our journey home.

On departing from Bill’s, Mary suggested the American Legion on Balboa Island for breakfast; we ran down the 55-freeway like a bat out of a belfry arriving two minutes before the lunch menu went active.

Mary usually has peanut butter toast for breakfast, but this morning we were out of bread, and she’s been grouchy all day.  I never knew she was lack-toast intolerant.

That’s my girl!

We enjoyed an omelet and sat right on the edge of the patio, enjoying the magnificent weather and watching the crazy people siling their boats up and down the bay!  I did mention to Mary, “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas. But if the white runs out, I’ll drink the red.”

I showed her the latest medical cartoon that I had come across; the older folks will understand!

Do YOU remember?

Mary spotted Frosty the Snoman down the harbor a bit so I pointed the trusty iPhone in that general direction and pressed the magic button.  After careful examination, there are actually two in the photo!

Do you see Frosty? Look carefully!

I was a little doubtful, so I zoomed in on him, and sure enough, he was getting ready to take the boat out for a cruise up and down the bay!

He is about to take the boat out to cruise around the bay!

I remember an incident where Frosty showed up in the back of my mind, and the result was horrible.

We are about to see a repeat!

From the Post, we zipped back home to visit Mr. Scout, The Wonder Dog, and finished cleaning everything up, but everything was clean; Colleen had everything put away, and the dishwasher was running!

We decided it was time to attempt to watch some Christmas movies; after all, it was 1:00 PM.  We watched three in a row while Mary did some cards.  When it got dark, we went into the hot tub, and that was amazing; I slept like a baby all night long.

We got a call from Colleen when she got home, so we visited with her.  The picture before was NOT photoshopped; she is an angel!

DO NOT WORRY; it is an optical illusion!

We crashed around 9:00 PM because tomorrow begins a new and busier-then-every week!

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Today We Celebrate Paul’s 77th Birthday!

Posted on Saturday, December 18, 2021 by Paul

Paul: “Doctor Mary, I get heartburn every time I eat birthday cake.” Doctor Mary: “Next time, take off the candles.”

Today we celebrate, and we start by getting everything ready for this afternoon’s wild party.  The dancing girls arrived a little early; Colleen and Mary danced around the house, getting everything ready.  Colleen did an errand run for us, saving a lot of time.  She went to Goodwill, dropped off Christmas stuff boxes, and picked up the food from Mrs. Andersen.

I didn’t think the numbers went up that high!

I do not feel too old but the other day, I tried to explain to my 4-year-old son Callen that it’s perfectly normal to accidentally poop your pants, but he’s still making fun of me.

Mary and I had a few minutes to relax and discuss getting old.

M-m-m-m-m-m Mary had a surprised expression!

Everything was ready by 2:00 PM, an hour ahead of schedule.  Having Colleen here was helpful; she is delightful. Scout, The Wonder Dog, was ready to go and perform his world-famous crotch-sniffing routines.

You can see the entire party on our website: We have about seventy-five pictures of the entire event; we did not put the police arrival and paddy-wagon exit on the page.

Guests begin to arrive right on time, so we sit and visit for a while.  There we twenty of us today.

As soon as the Duda’s arrived, Mary found Nick and put him to work.

Mary puts Nick to work; Nick was a great help today!

Colleen and Mary worked hard to make everything pleasant, and it was just delightful.  I never felt so good about being so old!

Today’s hero was hard at work!

Mary enjoyed the celebration and told me, “Today is your birthday, so congratulate yourself, especially if you’re still young enough to remember it.”  She also added, “Remember, no tattoos”

I could not let that go unanswered, so I mentioned to Mary, “I asked my mother where I was born and Mom told me in a hospital.” I responded: “Mom, was I ill?”

We visited and visited and ate and ate and then came present time!  Before I attacked the presents, I reminded the audience of family and friends that I was so ugly when I was born mom said, “Oh, what a treasure,” and dad said, “Yeah, let’s  bury it.”

I got a gift certificate for a head transplant! I knew I was UGLY, but a head transplant?

Dessert was served and we had Mary’s special chocolate cake and cherry pie.  I ice cream was hardly touched; doesn’t anybody like anchovies ice cream anymore?

I turned it upside down and announced I was eleven; no responses!

Family and friends are important in life! Thank you all for a great time!

Visiting with friends!!!

Mary announced dessert, and I got so excited.  I thought it was my birthday cake, but it was just the he-shed on fire.  We hit the cherry pie with a vengeance; it disappeared within 23.4 seconds!

At the end of the party, we collected some of the delightful leftovers and visited Jan for a “Meals On Wheels” flyby.  We sat and talked to her for a while before coming home.  It was a super day!

Thank you, Mary and Colleen!

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Friday Has Arrived; I Know This Because I Saw The Trash Truck!

Posted on Friday, December 17, 2021 by Paul

Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone.

I have one thought for this morning after listening to the news!

It’s becoming madness!

We were up at 6:00 AM and continued decorating the tree until 8:00 AM when I took Mary to the PT session, and I took the sleigh down the street and had a coffee while they worked on her bones.  After the session, we went to the cleaners, then to the bank, and finally to Rockwell’s for breakfast which we shared.

Colleen was off to visit her mother in La Mirada.  She used the van because she could not find the keys to my car because I had my car keys with me.  Oops!

I put on my new UGLY sweater, and this year it was hideous!

Indeed!

We worked around the house, mostly decorating the tree until Colleen returned and Paul was cleaned up.  We then headed for the Nixon Library.  It is an impressive building and reminded me of how much he did in his 1 1/2 terms; it made other presidents look very sad.

Few remember what he did for women’s rights and the changes in the military, not to mention opening up China, starting the EPA, beginning the coordinated fight against cancer, getting nuclear arms under relative control, and stopping the Vietnam War.  All people remember is Watergate.

The Library is only 15 minutes from our home.

Colleen had never been here and was quite impressed.

Colleen’s first visit!

Here come the choo-choo trains.  Like other years, the model railroaders set up an impressive display in the Library at Christmas.  Several trains ran all at once, with 4-8-4 chugging right along.   I thought to myself, “Ticket inspectors, and you’ve got to hand it to them….”

The HO-Guage trains were there today!

They were set up in the lobby and had quite a run, with some trains having twenty-five cars.   I remembered back to college when a friend of mine quit his job as a reporter and left town by railway. It was an ex-press train.

I was expressly forbidden to run around the display making choo-choo sounds, especially train whistle sounds! (Little do the girls know I rooted just a little bit on the way out).

More trains.

Nixon was a lawyer and liked his yellow pads and used them for years to capture his thoughts; the Library had originals and translations.  He had brilliant ideas like “win the peace!”

In his study with the yellow pad, he created terrific ideas for our country.

We departed just as the Library was closing, but you can see many more pictures on our website.

The three of us had a wonderful time.

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Mary arrived home and went into cooking mode while Colleen and I went through my Christmas decorations.  I pared them down significantly, donating two large boxes of tree ornaments to Goodwill.

Mary was cooking for the birthday party.

Scout, The Wonder Dog, helped us by staying in his bed and not pestering.  He is a good baby and even got grooming of sorts before we hit the sack!

Scout “helps”

After the food prep was done, Mary joined us for the party upstairs, completing the tree decorating activities.  I put the angel on the top of the tree, but she is crooked; only Becca can get the angel straight as I am too short!

Fixing the angel is a job for SUPER BECCA!

We all got silly towards the end of the evening with dancing, singing, another tomfoolery being accomplished!  The girls told me, “Paul, you are the reason Santa even has a naughty list.” My feeling was hurt, not too badly, though.   I quickly did my math and mentioned that “FYI: By the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas song, your home is crammed with 23 flying Birds and 50 hyperactive Humans.”

The following video is hard to explain, so I shall not do so!

What is troubling is that we are sober!

We declared victory at 9:00 PM and went downstairs for a small dinner!  We called Robin to coordinate tomorrow’s activities, and then we crashed.  Mary and I watched part of a Dolly Pardon Christmas movie before the Sandman visited.

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