I Am Officially Old; Seventy-Seven (That’s Dead In Dog Years!)

Posted on Thursday, December 16, 2021 by Paul

Let’s be naughty and save Santa the trip.

It’s Oh-Dark-Thirty, and I am up and moving.  I put on my birthday suit and discovered it really needed pressing; too many wrinkles!

I heard little footsteps in the guest bedroom, and I thought it must be an Elf. It turned out to be Irene who stayed the night so we could drive her to the airport at 6:30 AM.    I am up on my birthday at 5:00 AM; oh dear!

I made it to the airport!

When I returned from the airport, Mary asked me how it went.  I said, “Except for not having my glasses, swell” Then she pointed out I had them tucked onto my sweatshirt collar; I did not remember they were there; it’s tough getting old.  Finding the airport using Braille was not as easy as it might seem!

Mary: “You have five bottles in one hand and six in the other hand. Do you know ow what you have?”

Me: “A drinking problem.”

I stayed ” dry ” all day with all the driving I had to do,

We worked around the house, and Colleen did some errands.  We got ready for Girls Night Out at the Elks, and the rest of the day was a blur; we partied until we pooped out!

I got a free drink at the Elks, honoring that I could stand upright at my age and in my condition!   77 is a transitional age I have discovered.

A “transitional age” is when you don’t know what you want – ice cream or beer during a hot day.

I was deluged with cakes at the luncheon!

Most of the gang are here!

OK, one down two to go!  We did stop by Trader Joe’s and a Christmas Store before heading home to check on Scout.  We don’t like to be gone too long because he gets bored and calls up the neighbor dogs for a party!

I like wine so much that my family and friends didn’t know I drank until they saw me sober once!

At 5:00 PM, it was time to rocket down the 55-Freeway to Santa Ana for the annual Packard Christmas Party.  We love it as Colleen is getting to meet all of our friends, and we are proud of her.

Colleen has a couple of West Coast guy friends; Jay and Cal (they are both in their 80’s but appreciate fine cars and fine women!)  I overheard Colleen talking to them. She told  them, “A bartender is just a pharmacist with a limited inventory.”

“

The Packard party was terrific; we dined and visited and had a wonderful time!

Colleen and I were tired already so we leaned against the bar.

I tink I had tee many martoonies!!

Our tummies are full of Mexican food, so we are gassed up and ready to move on.  As I entered the car, I heard, “To the next party,  Jeeves,”  and the girls got into the back seat of my car. Thank goodness I did not have my chauffer’s hat in the car. I did have to make one stop before the PNI Party; I stopped at Staples.

“Your finest Scotch, please.”

“Yes, sir,” the guy at Staples says as he hands me a 12-year-old roll of tape.

So we are now in Irvine at the Irvine City Community Center Complex, which I liked because I knew there would be no alcohol allowed.  We talked a lot about our children on our way, and I happened to mention that raising children takes a village, preferably one with many vineyards.

I do NOT drink and drive because I might spill the drink.

We arrived, and everyone was happy to see Mary. It was her last official visit to the group.  Professional Networking with Integrity was formed to allow members to network with fellow professionals and generate leads for their businesses through referrals. Each member is expected to support each other’s business by actively looking for potential clients for each other.

Mary was honored for her part in making PNI a success!

On the way home, I reminded the ladies, “The speed of light is when you take a bottle of wine out of the fridge before the light comes on.”

We made it home safely and lasted about 13 seconds before we crashed!  I remember turning on a Christmas movie, but alas, I have no idea what it was.

At 11:00 PM, Mary woke me up; she could not find Scout.  We looked everywhere, and I searched the wet backyard in my stocking feet.  We returned to the house to wake up Colleen and have her join in the hunt, and guess what, there was Scout up on her bed with a big smile on his face.  He found a sleeping spot.

Scout has a funny sense of humor because he told us a definition. Dachshund: An animal half a dog high by a dog and a half long.

P.S.  Thank you all for the many messages of Happy Birthday.  I got emails and texts, and phone calls and hugs all day long – it felt pretty special!!!

 

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Go Here; Go There: On The Go!

Posted on Wednesday, December 15, 2021 by Paul

It was the day before my birthday, and all through the house, the damned mice were giggling!  What’s going on??

We arose to face the new day with smiles on our faces! What should we do today? How about finishing the Christmas tree?  Nope, we decided to go to Roger’s Gardens and see the goodies.  Into the Silver Fox and off like a shot until the 55 becomes clogged.  It took forty-five minutes to go where it should have taken twenty-five, but on the bright side, we had more time to visit!

You can see the entire visit right here!

Colleen spied the blur pots and went wild until she saw the $500 price tag!

Inside the various shops at Roger’s is always an adventure in shopping and a place to get sticker-shock.

Well, ding-a-ling!

The girls find their treasures as we wander in and out of the rooms.  I asked the girls, “What happens if you eat Christmas decorations?” Of course, I got a set of blank stares to which I responded cleverly, ” You get tinsel-i-tis.”

The girls seem to like similar items.

Now we are getting serious!  I made choo-choo sounds while the train was passing, and I noticed the girls picked up speed rather rapidly and did not look back.    I hurried back to them and decided to get even.  I asked, “How much did Santa pay for his sleigh?”  This time I got two scowls and three rolled eyes to which I said, ” Nothing, it was on the house!

I must call Joe and see how his train is doing.

Back inside again, I thought to myself, self; What do you call a broke Santa Claus? Saint-nickel-less.  I decided not to go verbal with the thought, a wise choice.

Mary found some treasures, and so did Colleen.  I sure found a gem in Dr. Mary!

Indeed!!!

Mary had several items, but only one for her,  earrings,  and a wine-glass tree ornament for us.  Everything else was for others.  She is amazing!

She found something.

I thought I heard something growling; perhaps it was a hungry reindeer hiding behind the shelf.  Then I discovered it was the combined tummies of Colleen and Mary.  Something had to be done quickly.  I racked my brain, which took exactly and precisely 1.1 seconds (there is not much to rack!)

Before leaving, I saw Santa sitting on a chair in the corner, and I ran up to him because I knew what I wanted for Christmas. Well, he asked… I told!

Santa did look a little perplexed!

Santa still allowed us to say hello even after my little incident.  I did ask Santa, “What’s the difference between the Christmas alphabet and the ordinary alphabet? The Christmas alphabet has Noel.”

Santa was careful NOT to ask what Dr. Mary wants for Christmas!

Ah ha, Casina Enoteca in the parking lot of South Coast Plaza.  Eclectic food, pleasant surroundings, and plenty of booze; sounded like a winner!

Cucina Enoteca has a diverse menu.

We had octopus, fried and stuffed squash blossoms, and several exciting dishes.  The waitress was a hoot also; HOOT, not hooters! (Do I know my readers or what!)

We discussed Christmas and how they could find flying reindeer.

Flying or cliff diving; the only two choices!

We kept Colleen in stitches, and she returned the favor; the three of us giggled through lunch!

She is always smiling!

We returned home quickly because we discovered we all forgot to put the frozen tamales into the freezer last night; thank goodness, they were frozen rock solid.  We added our Christmas goods to the truck and returned home.

We began our chores going to TJ’s first (Trader Joe’s). We needed to get our wine supply; four cases should do it.  As we wandered around the store, things kept falling into the basket; I know not how.  We ended up with a Danish Christmas dessert, chocolate tookies, and other exciting items.

The next stop was the bar-stool store, Witherspoons!  We got the Christmas present for the Perry’s.  Two bar stools that were quite interesting; they had seat belts.  We placed the order, but it will take three months because they are custom-made and have to be flown to New Hampshire for delivery.

Back home, we are sitting down for a long winter nap, and the phone rings!  Vicky tells us that Irene has been at the airport trying to fly to Portland since 7:00 AM; it is now 7:00 PM.  Since we are fifteen minutes from John Wayne, we called and offered her a bed in our Manger for the night, and we would take her back to the airport tomorrow morning.

We visited with Irene until 9:00 PM, and we all crashed.  I hope the trip to the airport goes well tomorrow morning.

Please make the trip uneventful!

 

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Rain Rain Stay All Day; We Need It Badly!

Posted on Tuesday, December 14, 2021 by Paul

As Dad used to say, “It’s coming down like a cow pissing on a flat rock!”

We were awakened by the downpour around 4:00 AM and stayed in bed listening to the rain until it was time to rise at 6:00 AM. It was too cold to do anything fun, so we attacked the Christmas Tree with Colleen’s help.  Mary put on the lights, and since she was down on the floor, I assisted in moving her to the following location where lights were needed. After looking at the lights, I told Mary, “Not sure if my Christmas tree lights are real or just a filament of my imagination.”

Mary returned with, “I was highly decorated when I was in the army. I used to always wrap tinsel around my helmet.”  She keeps me laughing!

Up to the second floor to decorate our tree!

We sorted decorations in a) put in the tree, b) throw out, c) give as a donation to the Goodwill, and d) send to the kids (even though they would not want them; they can throw them out).  Tomorrow we will do the same with my decorations, and by the first of the year, we will have a set we can use next year!

Please don’t laugh; it is up and mostly verticle!

We have celebrated Christmas together for two years now, and we are finding we have a lot of the same decorations; great minds think alike!

Mary and I had identical Mr * Mrs. Claus movable decorations!

MAry makes one last pass before we clean up and head out to dinner.  Connor was going to join us be we had a cold and did not want to pass it on to the old folks; we will see his Saturday at the birthday party!

Final touches before we begin again tomorrow.

We went to Patty’s Place and had a wonderful meal with Colleen.  We sat at the bar and talked to the locals; we are considered locals/regulars by the crowd.

On our way from Seal Beach and Patty’s Place, we did a flyby at Vicky’s house to deliver dessert and pick up three-dozen tamales she got from a secret tamale maker in East LA.

We then headed to Jan’s house to do another flyby where we brought dessert here; we stayed for a while and had a small bottle of wine.

Off to Jan’s for a “flyby.”

Then we headed for home and watched a Christmas movie, or at least tried to!

Safely home and ready for a movie!

Tomorrow is another big day!   Good night all!  Please, just one more!  How does Santa Claus take photos? With his North Pole-aroid. No extra charge!!!

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Monday Is Here And Mary Is Home; Yeah Retirement!

Posted on Monday, December 13, 2021 by Paul

What’s green, tinselly, and goes “ribbet ribbet”? Mistle-toad!

It’s Monday and it’s Christmas season so that means a favorite tune about Christmas is needed.

We were up at the crack of dawn and jumped into the spa to help out Colleen’s shoulder.  We talked and plotted the entire day as it will be busy.

Now, back to decorating and this time the front yard.  Mary and I got the manger set and Colleen brought the blowups from New Hampshire.  I tried to do it myself and got so frustrated I had to stop.  Colleen and I made a good team; we read the Chinese instructions together and figured it out.  But, now Colleen has to come back in January to assist in the disassembly.

While working with Collen, I asked her, “What do they sing at a snowman’s birthday party?”  She knew something corny was coming so I told her, “Freeze a jolly good fellow!”

The garage was our staging area for the decorations.

Colleen set up everything; I found electricity for the units; Mary gave the final approval!

He he he!

Colleen wanted to hook up her dad thinking that I was full of hot air; that did NOT make me feel bad until Mary agreed with her!

The yard be full now.

I declared victory when it stood up by itself for five minutes without going face-first into the grass!  I did however wonder where the air was coming from?

Without Colleen, I would still be trying to put it together!

We are scheduled for a big winter storm tomorrow and the skies were already looking threatening.  The first put on new covers and tied them down. Sout provided adult supervision.

The storm is on its way so we are battening down the natches.

Meanwhile things were looking great out front.  Santa arrived in his helicopter and his identical twin was dancing away under the candy canes.

Late in the afternoon, I took a short nap before cleaning up to go to dinner at the Capp’s beautiful home.   We drove down to Newport Beach and visited with the Capps and Ash’s before having a wonderful dinner.

I did ask Bill, “How does Darth Vader enjoy his Christmas Turkey?”  I responded after a few seconds of silence, “On the dark side!”

Bill tells a story involving him growing up with dinosaurs!

Miss Mary was a gracious hostess and made us feel quite at home. She loves to decorate and did an amazing job in her own home.

Mary keeps us interested in the finer things in life!

Stories are told and Mike does a great job!! We enjoy Mike having such a great time enjoying the stories; he would be a fantastic Santa!

After a wonderful evening we headed home and attempted to watch a Christmas movie; yeah, right.  Tomorrow, we will start the movie early, say about 6:00 PM.  Tomorrow Connor will be joining us and we are going to Patty’s.  Then I can pick up our tamales from Vicky.

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The Packard Club, The Reidy Museum, And Dancing (Another FULL Day)

Posted on Sunday, December 12, 2021 by Paul

The worst gift is a fruitcake. There is only one fruitcake in the entire world, and people keep sending it to each other.

Mary is a member of the International Packard Club and today is their annual Christmas Luncheon.  Today we are at Gulliver’s across from the OC (John Wayne) Airport, and many of the cars had already arrived.

Gulliver evokes images of 18th century England, Jonathan Swift, the adventures of Captain Lemuel Gulliver, and the gracious hospitality of an English roadside inn. Its warm, inviting interior is a place you’ll want to return with your friends and family again and again- whether to share a round of drinks in the lively pub or celebrate a social occasion with a sumptuous Prime Rib feast.

You can see all the pictures right here!

It isn’t hard to find a restaurant serving prime rib and steak in Orange County, but how many can seat you at John Wayne’s favorite table? The charismatic screen legend was a frequent guest at Gulliver’s, and it’s easy to see why. The portions are enormous, the service is friendly, and most importantly, the beef is cooked to perfection.

We have arrived at Gullivers!

Inside, the decor is impressive; the clock indeed has moved back in time.  Guliver’s was not ready for us yet so we went across the parking lot to a Mexican restaurant and had a drink.

Dianne and David drove their Packard to the show.  I told Dianne that, “With the rise of self-driving vehicles, it’s only a matter of time before we get a country song where a guy’s truck leaves him too.”

1951 Packard

On the way in I struck up a conversation with Mr. Gulliver,  He told me about his four voyages back in the 17800s.  Pretty amazing traveling to Lilliput and meeting the small people.

His accent was a little difficult to understand.

“Let’s party!”

We know what we want to eat: prime rib, prime rib,  and more prime rib.  We also found a bottle of wine that needed to be emptied.

OK girls, where is the champagne?

Santa entered, and Mary headed in that direction.  I tried to figure out what Mary might like for Christmas, but alas, she said nothing.

Careful there, Santa!

Santa was doing a super job of “Santa-ing.”  I asked what kind of Packard sleigh did he take today. So I began my spiel, but jer had heard them all before.

Why doesn’t Santa use reindeer milk in his coffee? He’s on a deery-free diet!

What do you call a kid who doesn’t believe in Santa? A rebel without a Claus!

What did Mrs. Claus say to Santa Claus when she looked up in the sky? It looks like rain, dear!

I measured him; he will NOT fit down our chimney!

Colleen needed to tell Santa some secrets; Mark better be listening carefully!

“Piece of candy, little girl?”

On the way out someone brought my favorite Packard, a 1955 Packard Caribbean convertible.  I have been toying with the idea of buying one of these, all I need is a place to put it.

If you run in front of a car you’ll get tired, but if you run behind the car you’ll get exhausted.

My favorite Packhard.

We departed Gulliver’s and headed for the Reidy Museum, where we wandered around for an hour amongst the fantastic collection of goodies.  David has first-hand knowledge of each piece and answered questions with fantastic precision.

The museum is quite remarkable.

Mary and I went upstairs to see other parts of the collection and got a doos aerial shot of the displays.

An amazing aerial view.

Our host and hostess made the collections come to life, explaining intricate details of how they came about to have the pieces in their collection.

Thank you, David and Dianne, for hosting the tour!

From the museum, we went home only to get changed to go dancing in Chino.  We dined at PF Chang’s with Donna and Bob before going to the dance studio.  We danced until 9:30 PM, when we both gave out and decided we were done!

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Our Annual Christmas Play Was A Hit!

Posted on Saturday, December 11, 2021 by Paul

Christmas is a baby shower that went totally overboard.

We just worked around the house before having to get cleaned up to head to Claremont and the Candlelight Dinner Theater; this will be my 31st year and I only missed once, courtesy of COVID-19.

All the pictures are available right here!

We had fifty friends and family joining us today; down from almost one hundred in the past.  We had a wonderful time and as usual;, the Bolinger Team made us feel great!

Robin, Nick, and Nick!

The family was here and we enjoyed seeing everyone.

Amy, Joe, and Colleen

The food was fantastic and we all enjoyed seeing Santa get a big surprise.

He had help from the elves!

Just the guys!

Four generations!

We headed home about 3:30 PM and Zack came over to hang up our TV in the living room.  We visited with him and his family until past 9:00 PM!

Mary is down with the great grandkids!

Zack puts in the electric.

Someone is going to have a painted face!

Always a smile!

Eek! We have been invaded!

We all had to wear balloon hats!

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10,000 Lights Or Maybe 9,998?

Posted on Friday, December 10, 2021 by Paul

A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still gently allows you to grow. – William Shakespeare

The morning was glorious without a cloud in the sky. This morning, we walked Five Miles with Colleen and Scout, The Wonder Dog, taking the lead. Around the hood, we traveled, meeting other folks walking their pooches.

Returning home, we sat by the fire, had a cup of coffee, and planned out the day. Then the girls got an idea! Poor Scout!

Let’s take his picture!

We had to take 120 photos to get him to smile and not move!

Take my what? Do not point that thing at me. It will capture my soul!

There were a lot of “behind-the-scenes” activities involved!

Scout gets a treat!

Colleen had a hair appointment with one of Mary’s hairdressers, and while Colleen was getting fixed up, we went to Jan’s house under the guise of a visit.  We were actually getting her Christmas present, but we had to swipe one of the originals, so we knew its size.  What is “it”?  It was two new American Flags as Jan’s got a little worse for wear.  Now the flags look great!

While out and about, we stopped at our banks, went to other jewelers, and then stopped at Rockwell’s for a small breakfast.  We shared an omelet, and Mary had coffee while I had iced tea!   It was perfect because we are saving ourselves for Rothchild’s this evening.

We picked up Colleen and returned to Jan’s with her presents; we think she liked it.  Then back home where we did a little decorating.

We got cleaned up and headed for Rothchild’s at 3:00 PM because we had a 4:00 PM reservation.  Why go so early, you might ask? We had a 6:00 PM reservation at Sherman Gardens.

Visit the website for details.

“Here’s to ya!”

Rothchild’s passed the test; they had the proper beer!

Someone was ready to eat!

David was trying to tell us something!

Bob found some red wine, and he was happy.  Bob and I wore precisely the same shirt, so it was hard for the girls to figure out who was who!

“Who me?”

Donna got her Chianti wine, the specialty of the house!

Photobombed!

Just us enjoying our dear friends!  Life is good! Should I mention that Mary is holding my arm to keep it from reaching for the bread?

Just us!

It was a short walk to the gardens, about two and a half blocks along PCH.  Sherman Gardens was not crowded, and it was a pleasant experience. Remember: Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time.

We arrived.

The fog machines were going great-guns; we could hardly see where we were going!  It made the experience surreal, but it also made photography difficult!

The fog machine was going full blast.

The lights were fantastic. Mushrooms everywhere! I had to ask, “Why do mushroom children behave so well?”  They had NO answer so I provided them the following, “They don’t want to get in truffle.”

Ladies!

This year they set up a Choo Choo, and it was fun listening to Bob and David made trains sounds.  OK, who made the loud whistle noise; that was NOT funny!

The Choo Choo was running.

All smiles. Bob asked a train engineer how many times his train had derailed. He said, “I’m not sure; it’s hard to keep track.” Of course, David replied, “I know an elephant who refused to travel by train because he didn’t want to leave his trunk in the baggage car.”

Ticket inspectors. You’ve got to hand it to them!

The colors were unique! Colors are the smiles of nature.  ready? “What is the best Christmas present in the world? A broken drum, you just can’t beat it!“

Bright lights were surrounding us!

How in the world did they get all those lights into that tree?  It must have taken a long time!

Wow! Did you know that a local bank is opening an ATM in a tree? If it is successful, they might expand to other branches.

We had a wonderful time this evening.

Just us!

We found live music and a dance floor and guess what, we danced!!  The girls started with a line dance, and then all of us danced for another 45 minutes!  I think they danced because it kept them from hearing my bright and witty humor.  BTW, “What goes “Oh, Oh, Oh”? Santa walking backwards!”

Time to head home. A fantastic evening was putting us all in the Christmas spirit!

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Girls Night Out And More…

Posted on Thursday, December 9, 2021 by Paul

“Christmas can’t be bought from a store. Maybe Christmas means a little bit more.” — Dr. Seuss

What happened last night? Our entire household, including Scout, The Wonder Dog, slept in past 8:00 AM; unheard of!  Perhaps it was the rain?  Maybe the sleep fairy sneezed while flying overhead and oversupplied us?   Maybe it 2was because I was so tired; I only heard one loud noise all night long.  I told Mary, “The amount of sleep needed by the average person is five minutes more.”

Really?

Mary packed up two “meals-on-wheels” kits from the excess food we had (cooking just for two is impossible!).  We got ready for Girls Night Out and departed, with Colleen joining us.  We made the drop-offs in “fly-by” mode, just delivery and no visiting!

The Elks Lodge was full of Christmas parties, but we managed to squeeze into the lounge.  I shared with Colleen and Mary and therefore had a full plate!  I was as full as a tick.

We were talking about eating as children and I told the girls, “I was so ugly my mother used to feed me with a slingshot.” Meals are a funny thing, especially Chinese meals; think about it, you do not sew with a fork, and I see no reason why you should eat with knitting needles.

Colleen was so kind as to snap a picture of us by the Elks beautiful Christmas Tree; we may attempt to make Christmas Cards from this one. If that doesn’t work we will sell it to Black Flag Pest Control as a way to frighten mice to death and be green at the same time.

We are having fun together; does it show?

From the Elks, we headed home to rest before this evening’s foray into the unknown!  Mary and I crashed almost immediately, and Colleen dozed off between phone calls to family back home and brother Joe.  I felt stuffed when I arose from the nap. I dreamt I was forced to eat 25lb of marshmallows; when I woke up, my pillow was missing.

Scout, The Wonder Dog, came to us with a request; “I want to go for a walk.”  He gets so excited; he looks like he is having a seizure.  We got his collar on, and Colleen took the reins.  Off we went for a quick pre-sunset trip around the clock. Remember, “When you have a dog, you never walk alone.”

Scout has a unique way of walking!

We had to hurry along as the sun was setting just as we closed the door to leave!  It had been a stormy day so tomorrow will be picture perfect!

The sun had just set as we took off down the street!

Back into the car, and we are off like a shot.  We dropped Mary at a hotel adjacent to South Coast Plaza.  She wanted to say goodbye to current members of the OC Ophthalmology Society, where she was a past president.  Colleen and I wandered over to the Crystal Court and walked the hallways.

Colleen embarrassed me just a bit; I overhead her conversation in the dress store:

Colleen: May I try on that dress in the window, please?
Clerk: No, ma’am. You’ll have to use the fitting room like everyone else.

We saw the top of the beautiful decoration at the center of the Crystal Court; we could not figure out how they built that thing inside the building.

I was ginormous!

We continued walking and shopping, and we were amazed at the decorations, they were huge!

View from the top!

Even the wreaths were spectacular!  Where do they store these items?  It is a mystery!

They better be up there secure!

When we got to the first floor, Santa spotted me in my “off-duty-Santa-costume” and waived.  We decided we needed a picture with Santa so, we dialed back our clocks about 45 or more years, and into the booth with Santa, we went.   Santa asked me what I got my wife for Christmas, and I responded with, “I bought my bride a fridge for Christmas. – I can’t wait to see her face light up when he opens it.”

We had to have pictures, so we opened our bag of gold, bargained for a photo, and voila, we had our image taken by a cute little elf.

We look pretty good for being 127 years old!

I told Colleen, “When you stop believing in Santa Claus is when you start getting clothes for Christmas!”

I had to ask Santa what he wanted for Christmas, and he announced in no uncertain voice, “See’s candy.”  Departing his tiny photos area, I whizzed out my phone and asked where was the nearest See’s candy store.  It was precisely eight feet behind me; I turned, and as if by magic, there it was.  Santa got his present for Christmas, and Colleen and I got a teeny-tiny chocolate thingy! Dang! I got Santa a gift for Christmas!

My iPhone buzzed, and I thought it was Mary, but it was Bob Z.  They got their home decorated; we must go by and see it soon!

The hampster powering the lights probably gets tired fast!

Colleen and I dined at an exclusive supper club; I think it was called “Ruby’s,” where we shared an open-faced burger as we were watching our weight.  Good for us!  But, then our eyes got tired of watching our weight, and two delicious malts got delivered to the table; we know not how it happened.

We decided to go back to Mary’s hotel and wait in the bar where we would imbibe on ice water and behave.  Well, that didn’t happen.  When I ordered our wine, the phone rang, and I changed the order from two glasses to a bottle.!

Colleen got her untangled from the thread caught in the jewelry.

MAry asked about our two hours of roaming around the shopping center,

I mentioned “The Wonder Years.”

We departed for home about 9:00 PM with a very short stop at Ace’s; they were closed!  By the time we got home, we went through the mail and crashed.

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Return Home And To The Airport!

Posted on Wednesday, December 8, 2021 by Paul

What do you call Harry Potter in a plane? The flying sorcerer.

As usual, even on a mini-vacation, we were up at 6:00 AM and packing for the return trip home.  We were in the car by 8:30 AM, winging our way via the Interstate-10 towards Los Angeles.  The GPS indicated two hours or 121 miles to Long Beach; that is about right.

We got into town early enough that we stopped by to take Scout, The Wonder Dog, out for a walk.  Colleen’s plane would be about 30 minutes late, so we had time.  We kept in contact with Colleen while awaiting her arrival at the airport, thanks to Apple Car-Play on the Silver Fox.

Computers in the car; what will they think of next?

We got her at 1:00 PM and headed to Rockwell’s for a late lunch.  We killed off a bottle of wine, but it took three of us.  Colleen and I shared soup and sandwiches, and Mary and I shared a veggie omelet.  Hold it that means I had a while lunch; my diet failed again!

Colleen and I were beaten; she went upstairs and crashed while I went to the master bedroom and crashed.  Mary messed around in the kitchen, putting the final touches on the pot roast!

It’s 6:00 PM and time to dance! We freshened up and headed to the Tustin Area Senior Citizen Center for two hours of dancing; Colleen was up and danced a couple of times, and she could be good with a bit of practice.

We had fun!

The Smoothies were in great form tonight.  Every tune was totally dancable.  Mary and I finally mastered the two-step and went around the floor a couple of times.

Wonderful music!

Colleen caught Mary and I on video!

Collen was tired and so were we so we departed about 9:00 PM.

Wow! Qw stopped by the neighbor’s house!

We crashed as soon as we hit the door.  The next few weeks are going to be busy!

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We Are Off And Running!

Posted on Tuesday, December 7, 2021 by Paul

A flower blooming in the desert proves to the world that adversity, no matter how great, can be overcome!

Speaking of desert, we are off to Palm Desert to see Barry Manilow’s, Christmas Show.  We departed about noon after spending some time at the Apple Store, where Mary got a new phone, I got a new watch, and I selected another laptop for me to use in the garage.

On our way, we stopped at the mall and visited the Apple store to get Mary’s new phone activated.  While there, I saw the current “fashions,” and it was hard to believe women have gone from stylish and beautiful to wearing torn jeans.  What are they thinking!

Hard to believe!

The mall was decorated for Christmas, and the statue was over three stories tall! I have no idea how they put it together, but a crane was involved somewhere!


They must have colossal storage facilities nearby!

Two G-scale trains were running around the base of the tree.  It was amazing.

Three stories inside the Crystal Court!

Peter, who was in his 70s, did the transfer, and he also got my new Apple watch activated.  I was going to buy a new MacBookPro for the garage, but alas, they were fresh out.

They were hard at work transferring data!

We were hungry, so we stopped at the entrance to the mall and had a quick brunch at the Mediterranean restaurant.  It was, as usual, very good.

Into the car, we went and off for a two-hour drive to Palm dessert.  I realized we would be driving by Annie’s, so we called and made a quick stop!  It was a good visit, and it kept us from going back down to Banning on Thursday!

Mary and Annie

We checked into our hotel at the Marriott and met up with Vicky, Yollie, and PAt for dinner.  Vicky found a five-star Jewish deli; it was a fantastic place.  I had a pastrami and corned beef sandwich a mile high.  We all shared the borsch soup!

Chowing down!

We had great seats at the theater and Mary took her life into her hands and snapped a picture of us.  We have lost many good cameras when the lenses cracked. You know ladies, “Christmas has me feeling extra Santa-mental.”  I also added, “Santa cleans his sleigh with Santa-tizer”

Fun with friends!

Set stage and set were bright and cheery!

He performed for two hours straight and kept the audience moving and groovin’.

Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus, June 17, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, musician, producer, and actor with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include “Could It Be Magic,” “Mandy,” “I Write the Songs,” “Can’t Smile Without You,” and “Copacabana (At the Copa).”

The lights went down, and everyone broke open their hand-help lights and swayed to his songs.

The sets were spectacular, and his orchestra made the evening; they were terrific!

Reds and more reds!

The little ol’ iPhone takes pretty good pictures from the back of the auditorium.

He sounded freat for 78!

We returned to our hotel and crashed!

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We Worked Most Of The Day

Posted on Monday, December 6, 2021 by Paul

May you never be too grown up to search the skies on Christmas Eve.

Today I took one single picture and that was when Mother nature called me in the early hours and I snapped a photos of the family room with only the Christmas lights on!

We went to Mary’s work and cleaned out the office returning home with six boxes of goodies now residing in the She Shed.  We took the van so we would have plenty of room for the boxes. We stopped at Rockwell’s for lunch before coming home to continue decorating.

Mary got her new iPhone so we are going to go to the Apple store tomorrow and get the data transferred plus I may trade in my old Apple Watch and perhaps buy another lap top machine for the garage.  I gave my new iPad to Joe because I just do not use it like I thought I woulde.

We made several phone calls to friends and family and then crashed.  The next few days will be busy and Colleen comes to us on Wednesday at noon; we are looking forward to that!

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Robin’s Birthday Was Celebrated In Style!

Posted on Sunday, December 5, 2021 by Paul

I always get emotional on Robin’s birthday. Even my cake is in tiers.

Bright and early, we braved the ice-cold air and wandered to the back of the house, threw off the spa cover with abandon, and jumped in, making nary a splash! We brought out a new water-proof Alexa compatible boom box and played Christmas music. We had our coffee and planned the day!  Planning was easy; it was Robin’s special day!

Visit our Christmas page and see the details!

We scampered out of the hot water and met in front of the fireplace.  Scout, The Wonder Dog, volunteered to chase the elephants away and keep a special eye on the cake! When we looked at him, we knew he was ready to party!

Scout is a Party Animal!

We changed into our grubbies and began final preparations for the shindig! Mary set the table, and I hung up the last of the over-the-door decorations.  Then, I got the s-h-h-h-h-h, do not tell anyone, the secret assignment.  I was to go to the car and drive to Rockwell’s to pick up the special cake we ordered.

I took my undercover assignment seriously and changed into my “Trophy Husband” T-shirt, covering it carefully with my bright orange trenchcoat and wearing a black hat; I did not want to be noticed while on the mission.  I may have overdone my disguise when I put on my six-inch red sequined heels!

The Silver Fox and I took the backroads to Rockwell’s to not be seen nor followed.  I went inside, wearing my dark glasses with the rubber nose and fake eyebrows, and moved slowly to the pickup counter.  The cake lady looked a little wary when I slipped the instructions on a paper note, but she followed them precisely.  Within minutes, the secret package was in my hands, and I returned home via another route.

I walked in the door and presented the package to Mary.  She decided to open it and inspect the contents.  Much to our surprise, there was no writing on the top of the cake.  I quickly got out my Sherlock Homes Junior Detective Kit and studied the package.  Mary beat me to discovering what happened AFTER she asked if I had hit any large bumps on the way home!

Apparently, the cake lady was in a daze with my get-up and put the cake in a box just a smidgeon too small; the writing was indeed in the cake box but smashed into the top of the box spelling our “niboR yadhtriB yppaH” in red frosting.  Mary called Rockwell’s, and we went over later and got it fixed!

It was 2:00 PM, and Mike arrived, followed quickly by Robin and Bob. Robin opened her birthday presents, and we sang, much to the chagrin of Scout, whose ears are sensitive, Happy Birthday!

Today’s kibitzing now begins in earnest!  Finally, I am taller than Mike and also two pounds lighter!

Time for gifts! We could not tell if she liked the present or the box it came in!   Robin got a universal remote for her Birthday. Well, this could change everything.

Robin opens her gifts.

Before it got dark, we went to the front yard and posed for pictures in front of the birthday sign, courtesy of Colleen!  I did remind everyone, “Don’t spell part backward. It’s a trap.”

We decorated outside also – Thank you, Mike, for the photo!

It’s just us guys fooling around, as usual!

We figured out Mike joined the gang about seven years ago!

Dinner preparations followed with Bad Mike delivering a much-needed hand to open the sauerkraut jar.   With one might grunt, the top came off, and we were back in business.

I did tell Mike, “If at first, you don’t succeed with a crowbar, pry, pry again.”

It’s good to have a big strong man around the house!

While the cooking was underway, it was story time and Robin, The Bashful, relates how she and a 15-year co-worker found out that they have the same birthdays!

I am attempting to lose weight so I talked to my dear doctor.  My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four unless there were three other people.

Bob was adorned with his official “Kiss The Perogie Cook” apron, and he told stories of yesteryear when they had to go out deep into the forest to catch the little perogies.  We did not know the perogies like sardines and jelly beans and sometimes unripe coconuts.

Bob almost made sushi for dinner but we caught him in time!

While Bob was cooking, he told us, “The laziest man I ever met put popcorn in his pancakes so they would turn over by themselves.”

Dinner preps begin

Bob and Nary were cooking up a storm.  We kept wondering, “Why are they always saying three-second rule and then bending over?”  It’s puzzling!

We were afraid to ask!

Success, the cooking is completed and not it is time to dine.  The sausages and perogies made the entire house smell like something was being cooked!  No, really! Bob and Mary chopped up the links and fried them with a bit of olive oil and maybe some butter; they were perfect!

A German/Polish dinner celebration

‘Perogies, sauerkraut, and an assortment of German sausages!  All we needed was the potato salad (which we had but forgot to put on the table).  We had polish beer and champagne flowed freely,

The meal was outstanding. Thank you, Bob, for the handmade perogies

Now it was time to slide the cake, the poor cake that went to its maker for a dressing repair. He came out fine.  We had Robin blow to the candle representing her LVVIIIth birthday.

I casually mentioned to Robin, “What happens when no one comes to your birthday party? You can have your cake and eat it too.”

No, No, Not the cake!

Dinner disappeared, and we began the Feuerzangenbowle celebration

Mary gets ready for the dessert!

Did You Know? – Feuerzangenbowle is prepared in a bowl, similar to a fondue set, which usually is suspended over a small burner (rechaud). The bowl is filled with heated dry red wine spiced with cinnamon sticks, cloves, star anise, and orange peel, similar to mulled wine. The Feuerzange was originally a pair of tongs, but nowadays it is common for a purpose-designed metal grate mounted on top of the bowl to hold the Zuckerhut (sugarloaf or literally “sugar hat”), a sugar cone around seven inches long.The sugar is soaked with rum and set alight, melting and caramelizing. The rum should have at least 54% alcohol per volume and be at room temperature to burn correctly.

More rum is poured with a ladle until all the sugar has melted and mixed with the wine. The resulting punch is served in mugs while the burner keeps the bowl warm. For some, the ceremony is more important than the drink itself, celebrating the gathering of friends and conveying a notion of Gemütlichkeit.

Mary has the hang of this now; the rum is flowing.

The moment is captured, and the fire department has been put on notice!

The moment has arrived; the flame comes closer to the bowl, and one can almost hear the oranges screaming, “No, not that, no!”

Call the fire department.

The flames are doing their magic, melting the sugar code and dropping the results into the mulled wine.  The blue flame is an indication that the flame is blue, in case you wondered.

It’s alive!

The firebug was caught pouring a flammable (and quite drinkable) fluid onto the burning sugar cone.  She was severely punished with a big SMOOCH from her trophy husband, me!

She was caught in the act!

When Mary announced she was ready, cups came flying at the bowl from all directions.

Hold up your cup!

I set the video camera to stun and pushed the button.  No telling what you might see or hear.  If it offends you, you are easily offended!

Toward the end of our third round of passing the cup, I decided to call Vicky, who we consider a dear friend.  Well, the call didn’t go through, so I tried again.  Then, a noise on the roof came with a clatter; I rushed to the window to see what was the matter.

To my surprise was a lady in red full of giggles and heading to bed (She had to rush home to get the grandkids in bed before Amber found out how late they were up!)   What a lovely surprise; downright amazing!

Then magic occurred!

Robin and Vicky had the same shirts on; we got a good laugh at that!  We visited for a while and then sent Vicky on her way to sneak into the house to get the bys in bed before Amber (their mother) found out they were visiting Dr. Mary and Farmer Paul.

Out of the blue!

The evening wound down, but it was a fantastic time.  We are so blessed to have close family and friends.  We crashed; well, actually, Mary watched two Christmas movies while I checked for light leaks inside my eyeballs.  This celebrating stuff is tough on an old man!

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Work Work Work Dance Dance Dance

Posted on Saturday, December 4, 2021 by Paul

May your Christmas be furry and bright.

Yes, dear readers of this magnificent digest, I, Scout, The Wonder Dog, am again entertaining you with my writing skills.  Mom and Dad are not awake, so I decided to recant the day as I saw it from my comfortable bed in front of the fireplace.

It looks like I am sleeping, but this is my pre-elephant attack position1

Speaking of fireplaces, this is my view of our home most of the time.  You think I just lay around all day, NOPE!  I am a trained elephant dog.  Since moving into my new home in late May, there has not been a single elephant in the backyard!  I am on duty 24×7, whatever that means.

My favorite spot

For most of the day, I followed Mom and Dad around the house as they put strange things all over the place.  I have to control myself as I see the most exciting trees in several locations, and I should water them for Mom and Dad.

Perhaps at the ripe age of eleven, I am getting old because I keep seeing a lot of bright spots in my eyes, but then they go away; it is something called “lights” and a “switch,” Humans are very complicated creatures.

Mid-afternoon, the doorbell rang, and I rushed to make sure it was not one of those sneaky elephants.  It was the UPS guy, and he had a box that looked like my cans of food!

Mom and Dad fixed a little lunch so they would not get hungry before going out later.  Dad read the recipe while Mom did exactly as Dad said.  Now I know what wine reduction is; Mom does it really well!

Daddy read the recipe and Mommy did exactly what he said!

This year, I will send Christmas cards to the miniature French Poodle down the street, Fifi!  I am trying to figure out how to sign it!

  1. We Woof You a Hairy Christmas!
  2. Merry Christmas from our Pack to your Pack.
  3. Have a fetching Christmas!
  4. Unleash the holiday cheer this Christmas!
  5. Have a paws-itively fantastic Christmas.
  6. I am sending you pugs and kisses this Christmas.
  7. Canine I just say…you’re the best!

OK, about 5:00 PM, Mom, and Dad got dressed up and headed out the door with their words, “OK Scout, you are in charge!  Watch out for elephants!!”

Obviously, I was not invited, but I did see the picture they took, and I can conjecture what might have happened.

Mom and Aunt Donna decided to get some pictures taken, and they got Dad to snap a few.  You know, for humans, they are not too ugly!

Mom and Aunt Donna.

Speaking of ugly, Uncle Bob and Dad look pretty good, but I think their big friends, wearing the hat, looks much better; just saying!

Uncle Bob and Dad.

Mom and Dad left Alexa playing Christmas Music. I can hardly wait until they get home so I can ask, “Who is this Sandy Paws, and when will he be here with my treats?”

Dad and Mom have a good time when they are out and about!

Four of my favorite humans; even though they smell funny, I like them!

Mom and Dad’s friends

I know what this video is; Mom and Aunt Donna line dance (whatever that is).  Dad must have captured the moment.

I am too young to have aklie-haul, but I hear it is pretty good stuff.  Uncle Bob pours it into glasses; I think into a bowl would be a lot better.

Uncle Bob pours the dancing fluid!

Well, they did leave around 10:00 PM because their paws hurt.  Oops, I think I meant feet.  When they got home, they mentioned they stopped at Aces for one last glass of wine, but the details are a little unclear.

When they walked in the door, I knew what was coming!  They decorated me; how humiliating can it be.  They dressed me like a human; they probably wanted me to bark a Christmas song!

Dad had a hat, and Mom had a wrap for little old me!

OK, I am done writing for tonight!  Mom and Dad had a great time, but it would have been better if I could go; I can line dance!

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Friday Means Dancing!

Posted on Friday, December 3, 2021 by Paul

Christmas is a time when you get homesick…even when you’re home.

Bright and early we back to decorating and we are about to get finished!  We started with a sit by the fire and then we walked Five Miles!  Joe came over to bring me his projecting equipment as I had prepared a movie about the Topper’s Dance Club which will be going “Out Of Business” as of this evening.  Too bad because we have been dancing with that group for years and after seventy-five years, it is no longer viable!

I mentioned to Mary that I saw an Irish dancing show called ‘Streamdance’. It’s not quite as good as ‘Riverdance’, but then it is only a tributary act.

We departed Orange early and stopped at Old Ranch for a snack and a glass of wine before going to the Petroleum Club for the dance,

As usual, we had fun!

I should have stayed quiet but we all know ow that is impossible so I blurted out..

How do you make a tissue dance?

Put a little boogie in it

Great fun with friends!

You can see the past ten years of its history on my website at http://lilesnet.com/toppers/index.htm.

We dance until 9:30 PM and headed for home as we have another big dance at the Elks on Saturday.  We made it home safely and checked in with Scout, The Wonder Dog.

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The Decorating Continues; We Are At 85%

Posted on Thursday, December 2, 2021 by Paul

“Nothing ever seems too bad, too hard, or too sad when you’ve got a Christmas tree in the living room.”

First things first; coffee and warm feet!  We rolled up the dining room chairs to the fireplace, put our feet on the hearth, and drink to another beautiful day together, getting ready for the holidays.

First mistake of the day, but I had to do it.  I asked Mary,”What do you call the crazy people who are already putting up Christmas decorations?” Mary cringed, took a deep breath, held her nose, and told me to proceed with the stinker.  I obliged by saying, “Orna-mental. of course!”

We love the friendly, warm fire!

The doorbell rang at 9:15 AM and it was TJ, our electrician.  We walked the house and I gave him fifteen jobs to estimate including replacing the entire power panel.  We are looking forward to his estimates and getting the work underway.

We went to Rockwell’s to order a special coconut cake for Robin’s birthday this Sunday.  We decided to share a breakfast burrito so we could get to the foot doctor in time.  We drove to Newport to see Dr. Bill, the podiatrist.  I am getting a new set of orthotics after the first of the year.

I did ask Mary, “Why don’t podiatrists use the metric system?” Why does she look so shocked when I make my inquiries?  I told her, “Because they get paid by the foot.”  OK, I was on a roll.  Taking my life in m,y hands, I said, “If a cabbie drives a cab, what does a podiatrist drive?”  MAry mulled over my rather poignant question and then shrugged!  I quipped, “Duh, a toe truck.”   I had to promise NOT to share my humor for the rest of the trip to Newport.

We went to “Girls Night Out” at the Elks in Santa Ana immediately after the visit with the good doctor.  Hal and Jeannie had just arrived when we pulled in, so we followed them inside.  Jeannie wanted to talk to Mary about some eye issues, so they did their thing.

I told Hal my favorite ophthalmologists joke.

A man sits next to another man on the train and pulls out a photo of his wife and said, “Isn’t she beautiful?”

Other man: If you think she’s beautiful, you should see my wife

First man: Why? Is she a stunner?

Other man: No, she’s an ophthalmologist

Hal and I discussed the world and ordered a drink while the ladies were busy.

The regulars showed up, but today was without Dr. Capps, who was with his Mary and she was having a minor procedure done, I think it was a heart transplant or something like that?   Sydney was with us today and that is always a plus!

The Ash’s joined us and it was officially hat day and Linda was glowing red.  If Rudolph was not around, Linda could take his place guiding the sleigh!

Time to fine dine!

Jeannie was tickled because instead of waiting two weeks to see the doctor, Mary placed a call, and she is going in tomorrow.

Jeannie and Mary, after arranging to see the doctor.

To celebrate all the Christmas spirit, I ordered a dozen oysters.  Iris, eat your heart out!  Jeannie was the only other person at the table who liked oysters, and we did them in quickly.

I told Jeannie about my pet oyster, Dufus!    Dufus the oyster was brilliant, and one day, I couldn’t find him. I think he was using clamouflage.

Jeannie and I had oysters.

I know now why they call them sliders. I asked Mary if they would accept my Oyster card in the local Shell station. I did not get an answer.

Chomp!

Now I understand what they mean when they call someone oyster lips!  I did make an announcement at the table for all to hear.  I said, “Recent research has shown that oysters have developed an advanced method of communication. They use shell phones.”

Oyster Lips!

We returned home to relieve Scout who was by now seeing through yellow-colored eyes.

Our mason stopped by and delivered some stone samples that had been treated with a special coating to bring out the colors. We will take a look and let him know a little later.    We talked about the vegetable garden, and I think we know ew who will be doing it for us.

After he departed, we continued our decorating activities, and around 6-ish, Mary fixed a little dinner from leftovers, and it was fantastic; hit the spot!. Robin dropped by for a visit.

My mother made some jewelry-Christmas trees complete with lights.  Over the years, things have come loose and missing, so Mary and Robin opened the field hospital again and did the surgery.  The pictures look as good as new now!

Robin came over and spent time with us.

I was heart-warmed to see the pictures get such tender loving care.  They bring back old memories of my wonderful mother.

Mom’s artwork is now repaired!

After Robin departed, we watched TV and soon after that crashed; the eyes were closed, and we were in dreamland by 8:00 PM.

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December Be Arrived And We Are Decorating Like Mad!

Posted on Wednesday, December 1, 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.”

Poor Baby Scout; he has been working so hard watching us decorate the house that he just crashed, keeping one eye open just in case we decide to go for a walk.  He was barking earlier, and using my exceptional skills as a doggie-translator, I determined Scout was singing Christmas carols.

Scout worked so hard!

It’s mid-week, so we called Dianne on the Alexa and checked in to coordinate the weekend activities.  Alexa sure beats the phone, and we got to visit with David also!  Dianne could see the progress we have made on the decorating front.

Dianne got a status report.

All the boxes that were to be emptied are now emptied.   I stacked them up around the side of the house, ready for the December tarp!  The Alexa-controlled lights are functioning correctly, so the house is now on automatic.  We love the sunset-sunrise feature, and no more running around plugging and unplugging Christmas lights!

The doorbell rang at 9:15 AM and it was TJ, our electrician.  We walked the house and I gave him fifteen jobs to estimate including replacing the entire power panel.  We are looking forward to his estimates and getting the work underway.

Then we went to Rockwell’s to order a special coconut cake for Robin’s birthday this Sunday.  We decided to share a breakfast burrito so we could get to the foot doctor in time.  We drove to Newport to see Dr. Bill, the podiatrist.  I am getting a new set of orthotics after the first of the year.

I did ask Mary, “Why don’t podiatrists use the metric system?” Why does she look so shocked when I make my inquiries?  I told her, “Because they get paid by the foot.”  OK, I was on a roll.  Taking my life in m,y hands, I said, “If a cabbie drives a cab, what does a podiatrist drive?”  Mary mulled over my rather poignant question and then shrugged!  I quipped, “Duh, a toe truck.”   I had to promise NOT to share my humor for the rest of the trip to Newport.

We rushed home to let Scout out before returning to our decorating tasks.

The best way to spread Christmas cheer is by singing loud for all to hear.  So, we have installed two large amplifiers in the front yard, which serves two purposes; we provide cheer and scare off would-be burglars!

The outside is complete!

We were dead tired by the end of the day, so we crashed.  When talking to Robin later in the evening, she reminded us about last year when we worked hard all day and offered to watch a Christmas movie.  We lasted about five minutes and fell sound to sleep!

We fell asleep watching TV!

Off to bed, we went hopefully resting up for tomorrow when we will further attack the decorating activities.

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We Put Our Things Together Today!

Posted on Tuesday, November 30, 2021 by Paul

How can you tell Halloween is just around the corner?  Stores start putting out their Christmas decorations.

Today was a challenge!  Our cleaning folks come tomorrow, and we have to have the house clean before they arrive or at least in a condition where they can do their cleaning activities.

No swim spa this morning!  At 6:28 AM, we were up just before the Sun and hit the floor running. My first order of business was to raise the Christmas Flag!  6:29 AM in the morning and I am in my jammies playing with the flags!

I began to move boxes from the garage containing my Christmas decorations.   This year is exciting; we are putting our things together!  Oops, that sounds like fun!

Thanksgiving came down and Christmas went up!

The two-wheeled cart was working overtime, straining at the axel with boxes everywhere. You could almost smell burning rubber as I turned the corner from the garage into the long hallway; hey, I said, “almost.”

We started opening boxes when I yelled out to Mary, “What do you call a Christmas decoration made of 100 dollar bills?” She gave me the “Mommy Look,” and I cringed away, hid behind a stack of boxes to evade the potential hand swipe, and said, in my most romantic voice, “Aretha Franklin.”

Then the fight started!

PAul had 24 boxes of Christmas in stackable containers!

Last year we decorated our homes with our own things individually, but I got to see hers, and she saw mine, so today, there were no surprises!  We work well together; maybe it is because we believe in the same things!

Our secret!

Mary and I opened boxes and took the contents to where we thought they might go; at the end of the day, we had walked at least 12,000 steps and never left the house (except we walked Five Miles about mid-morning).

The counter was packed all day long.  It was a staging area. It also doubled as a toy field hospital.

I did go outside one more time to meet my Amazon Driver; we meet almost every day.  He looked worried today because we put up mistletoe over the front door.

While I was outside, I saw two of my neighbors and introduced myself.  I made a request. I said to them, “Those of you who are planning to place Christmas lights/decorations in your yards, can you please avoid anything red or blue and flashing?”

They looked puzzled, and then I explained, “Every time I drive by, I think it’s the police and have a panic attack.  I have to take my foot off the accelerator, toss my beer, swallow a handful of breath mints, put on my very dark glasses, fasten my seat belt, throw my phone on the floor, turn my radio down, change channels to Christmas music instead of rap,  and push the gun under the seat. It’s too much for me to do on such short notice.”

This display is a field hospital!

I played doctor today!  Mary, nurse Ratchet, kept bringing me electric toys that did not work.  I saved most of them using my surgical skills to extract corroded batteries and clean their contacts.  But alas, some of the patients did not make it.  The cute toys were still put out for display, and the not-so-cute went to the donation box.

The decorations requiring glue to fix broken parts were next on my surgical schedule.  I had glue for ceramics, glue for wood, and super glue.  By the end of my first operating day, everything was glued together including my thumb to my forefinger!

In the middle of a complex operating procedure, Mary asked me to pass her lipstick, but I accidentally passed her a glue stick instead, She still isn’t talking to me.

Dr. Liles had a large box of new batteries, connection cleaners, and other emergency gear.

In the afternoon, things we starting to take shape.  We were getting nods of approval from Scout, The Wonder Dog, especially if they looked like something good to eat.

It’s starting to come together.

Some rooms were still a work in progress.  We plan to attack the dining room before the cleaning folks show up at 8:30 AM tomorrow.

Oops, we still have work to be here.

Zack will come over this week and put the TV on the wall, so we have space underneath for the Christmas City; we have a load of Christmas houses we put on cotton (snow) complete with street lights, etc.   We even have a Christmas outfit for our cleaning robot; we are strange!

Grandpa feels like he is part f Christmas now.

Almost every surface is covered with decorations, and we both seem to enjoy the same things; we also found out we have many identical decorations we picked up over the years; this has got to mean something.

This year we did not get a tree because last year, we had a problem.

Well, Mary asked me to provide some holiday decorations for her home.

I eagerly headed out for decorations and returned several hours later.

Mary looked very perplexed with my cleverly made selection. In the corner of her living room stood a Christmas tree with only a few needles, and on it is a bullet on a string.

She was amazed and exclaimed that she specifically told me to get Christmas decorations and then said, “What the heck is this?”

I, attempting to attract her with my decorating skills, calmly replied, “Well dear, that is a cartridge in a bare tree.”

We listened to Christmas music all-day things to Echo. Yes, we danced carefully around the messes!

We dance everywhere, even in the middle of the decorating mess!

The Living Room/TV Room was looking pretty good, but we still have lights to repair.

The front room is almost ready.

It was getting dark, and we were getting hungry.  I went to the garage to see what else needed to come in and then stacked all the empty boxes on the patio and when I returned, Santa Cook has visited.  Mary made a wonderful dinner for us.

Dinner time; Mary makes excellent dinners.

We enjoyed a nice rest and spent time talking about our Christmas plans; we are busy every day, and our daughter, Colleen, is coming on the 8th, YEA!!!!  A kid home for Christmas!

Almost too pretty to eat, but we managed it.

After dinner, we went to the swim spa for a well-deserved rest.  We made progress today!   I even took the opportunity to ask Mary, “Which Christmas decorations are the grumpiest?” Oh boy, perhaps I should have withdrawn my question. Mary’s eyes glazed over, she took away my wine glass, she made funny sounds and finally said, “OK, what???” I moved to the farthest corner away from her potential reach and murmured, “The ornery-ments.” Then the fight began!

We soaked for an hour until we were becoming prunes and then headed to the TV to watch a Hallmark TV Christmas movie. We are batting 100%; we didn’t make it past the first 15 minutes. It is now taking us an average of three days to watch an hour and a half movie!

Mary keeps saying, “Better is the enemy of good enough”.  Well, I attempted one more try at humor.   I hunkered down beneath the covers, place the pillow where I was most vulnerable, and whispered, “Who broke all the Christmas decorations?”  I heard a groan; I knew she was ready.  I whispered, “Santa Klutz.”  Then the fight started!

Good night all!

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Mary Don’t Go To Work No More No More!

Posted on Monday, November 29, 2021 by Paul

 

OK, it is Monday, and that means music from Paul’s youth!  So, without further ado, here is today’s selection! Mockin’ Bird Hill was a great little tune that I enjoyed in the early 1950s.

We headed to the living room and attacked the Christmas boxes, but we realized some were missing, so we investigated our storage upstairs.  Low and behold, we found about 15 boxes of Christmas items.  We worked until about 10:00 AM when we went to Home Depot to get some additional lights for our tree.

Goodness, we have a lot of decorating to do!

What have we done>Fifty plus containers of Christmas, and we only did about fifteen today!

We took a coffee break early.

Upstairs we have several storage areas.  Mary braved the darkness and brought out the containers; I provided the flashlights!

Upstairs we discovered a lot more Christmas decorations!

After going to Home Depot, we stopped at Rockwell’s Bakery for lunch and liquid encouragement to proceed with the decorating efforts!  Our waitress/bartender was overheard saying her family was from Greece.  We queried her about that, and it turns out she speaks fluent Greek.  Irene better get ready for a nice lunch at Rockwell’s!  We got a list of the best Greek restaurants in the area!

We are enjoying a little rest at Rockwell’s

we love the bar area in the morning, but later in the day, it becomes BUSY with the kids. It is too noisy for us!

The Rockwell bar area was quiet this morning!

We walked Five Miles and ran into Mr. Snowman on the way.  He was doing well for the temperature being in the high 70s.

We walked Five Miles when we got home!

Back to unpacking the decorations, we found goodies that Mary’s kids made over the years.  We decided to send some to the kids, put up some items, and donate those not sighed or in poor condition.

Our kid’s decorations were reviewed; some were sent to them via the US Mail!

Scout barked, meaning the mail person had arrived.  We got out first Christmas Card of the season today from Vicky’s kids!  We have just the place to put them!

Our first Christmas card arrived today!

We had a small dinner of leftovers, but by 6:00 PM, we were shot.  We watched a movie on TV and fell asleep before 7:00 PM!  Robin called at 8:00 PM, and I answered the videophone in the dark only with the light from the TV on.  Decorating is a challenging task!

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Our First Christmas Event; The Alley Cats

Posted on Sunday, November 28, 2021 by Paul

Remember not to leave a fire burning in your fireplace this Christmas Eve, or else you might wake up to a Crisp Kringle.

Up and at it bright and early; we know this because we beat the sunrise!  Into the swim spa and down goes the coffee.  This day is going to be another fantastic day to share with friends!

I began wheeling in Mary’s decorations and filled up the entranceway with about twenty containers.  The boxes looked enormous in her old house, but they looked smaller in our new home. We will be busy for several days setting everything up! Tomorrow I will begin rolling in the other thirty containers from my place.

Mary fixed potato pancakes for breakfast and, using her culinary skills, threw in some stuffing from Thanksgiving.  Those were GREAT pancakes!

We then watched Dr. Stanley on TV and got our week’s message; his sermon was about the Trinity; finally, I understood the concept!

We walked Five Miles before returning home to get ready to go to the first Christmas event of the season!  Vicky got us tickets to see the Alley Cats at the Curtis Theater!  You can visit us here at http://lilesnet.com/Christmas2021/2021-11-28-alley-cats/index.htm

We are awaiting the doors to open.

We were in for super music and a lot of laughs and giggles.

They were in great form after almost twenty months off work

Over to the Lazy Dog for some serious comfort food.

After the performance, we went to the Lazy Dog Cafe.

What a collection of people!  We were happy to see Yollie coming with Vicky!

What a crew!

This was Mary’s first experience with the Alley Cats, and she enjoyed their performance.

Just little ol’ us!

We attempted a Christmas Hallmark movie but failed miserably. We returned home with our tummy full and let Scout out for a romp in the grass.

Good night all!

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Goodbye Thanksgiving; Hello Christmas

Posted on Saturday, November 27, 2021 by Paul

What do they sing at a snowman’s birthday party? Freeze a jolly good fellow!

We are ready to meet the challenge!  Undecorating has been completed, and today we bring Christmas down from the attic, all 50 boxes!

But first, on a retired Saturday morning, we rise at 5:30 AM and get ready to go to an 8:00 AM soccer game in Whittier.  We were invited to join Amy and Joe watch Charlie and Alex do their magic on the soccer field; the boys are rather good!

We even got thank-yous from the boys via text messages from their cell phones!

Alex takes on the champs!

The girls talked and cheered on the guys.  Amy and Mary get along quite well.  We watched an 8:00 AM game and then Charlie’s game at 10:00 AM.  After four hours of sitting, we had to head home because our car wash guy was coming over.

On the way home, we stopped at Subway and shared a turkey sub; it was perfect!

Mary and Amy cheer the boys on.

Mary fixed a care package for Bill, who is in Costa Mesa.  He has stage four cancer and is going through some tough times.  Without family, we attempt to keep him fed because cooking for two is not easy!   I did a fly-by while Mary stayed home and got everything ready to go into the attic from the Thanksgiving/Halloween activities.

Juan showed up about 2:30 PM, and he washed our three cars. Then I asked him and his two helpers to take down Christmas.  He thought it would be just a couple of boxes; he was surprised when he looked into the attic!  Mary accumulated 27 years of decorations, and I had another 35 years.  This year we will combine our decorations and hopefully reduce the couldn’t of boxes by a few, or at least we will organize the contents by room.

I mentioned to Mary that I used to decorate a twelve-foot tree and loaded it with goodies; she was still surprised when six large containers labeled “tree decorations” came down the ladder!

While watching all the work, I did mention to Mary, “If you’ve ever watched a butcher wrap pork chops, you’ve seen me wrapping Christmas presents.”

They are almost done.

Once Christmas was down, Mary went up to make sure everything was done.  Then she told the guys where to put the ten containers of Thanksgiving/Fall.  Up it goes not to be seen again for eleven months!

The guys load ten boxes of Halloween/Fall back into the attic.

That was the best $100 I ever spent!  After sitting a while, we decided to go to Jan’s and bring her a care package.  Leaving the house, I saw the front, and the trees had just turned on (they are on an Alexa-powered timer set to go on at sunset and off at sunrise).  It looked pretty good!

We are started; red and green trees in the front windows.

The sun was setting, and I slowed down and took a snapshot of the street going to Jan’s house; she is only a mile and a half away, so we see her 2-3 times a week.

We are on our way to Jan’s house.

Jan has also been decorating, and she is ahead of us already!  Her little friends were sitting on the bench awaiting visitors.  I had an urge which I could NOT control.  I turned to Mary and blurted out the following:

      • What do snowmen wear on their heads?
        Ice caps!
      • What do snowmen eat for lunch?
        Icebergers!
      • Where do snowmen go dancing?
        Snowballs!
      • How do snowmen travel around?
        By icicle!

Little people greet us.

Mary and Jan went through the care package and discussed Thanksgiving recipes.  Jan ran the cooking displays and contests for the OC Fair for many years and is a published author of six cookbooks!  She is our go-to person for things gastronomic!

Jan unpacks the “Meals On Wheels.”

While at Jan’s, we often call old friends and reconnect.  TOnight we called Norma and visited with her.  Next week we will have lunch with her and catch up on all things historical.  We, Jan, Mary, and I have known Normal for many years as a dancer. Her husband of many years, Jerry, passed perhaps three years ago.  Interesting fact, he was a double for Danny Kaye!  She is funny and enjoys a good visit.

We call our old friends to say hello!

We departed about 9:00 PM and went home and crashed again!  It was a good day, with the only downside being that The Silver Fox has to stay outside since his spot was taken in the garage with Christmas containers.

Tomorrow we will start the decorating process.  Where are Robin and Colleen when we need them?

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