Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
6:30 am, and we are up and getting ready to head out to our first stop of the day, the Vampire. I studied all night for the blood test, and I think I’m ready to go. No food until the test is complete, so Mary had a great idea: get the test over and then go two blocks to Benji’s for breakfast!
When we arrived, we read the local paper and felt a surge of relief to see that the new owner was also the manager for many years. I thought, “Finally, someone who can fire themselves if business goes south!”
Chanele knows us well, and we always get our one coffee and once coffee/milk when she sees us!
From breakfast, we drove across the street to Laguna Nursery and picked up several plants to put in the garden the next day. Laguna Nursery always has a great selection of plants for us to choose from!
After dragging ourselves home, we stumbled back to the office, where we hilariously tried to organize the chaos. It took us a couple of hours and a few cups of coffee to realize that we might be better off just buying a new filing cabinet!
We were shocked to find out that we had missed paying some of the taxes! Our accountant told us we were getting money back, and that it would cover the first installment – excellent news.
He forgot to say it would pay all the IRS taxes and just part of the California State taxes. We panicked and wrote the check to California, went directly to the post office, and sent the blood money on its way. We are sure we will get a fine, but we had no idea how much it would be!
Now it’s time for fun. We departed for the Elks at 4:45 pm. Ronnie was DJ’ing, so the music will be danceable for at least two hours before he turns up the speed for the younger crowd!
Thank you, Ronnie, for allowing the “Old Folks” to get some dancing in before the wigglers hit the floor!
Mary and I had the salad bar, plus she did their soup of the day, and we shared a chicken quesadilla! Mary had her glass of wine, and I managed to down three Diet Cokes on my own! I was sloshing after dinner.
The music began, and we tore up the dance floor with our impressive moves. I remembered the famous kick-step and introduced it to Mary; we had fun and laughed a lot!
No one knows when we miss a step because we look into each other’s eyes and smile!
In the middle of one of the dances, my trusty sidekick, the iPhone, began to flash and make obscene gestures; I knew it was an important call. It was! Our kidnapped van was being returned home. He had been with his brother, Joe, for several weeks while Joe’s truck was in the hospital. Joe said he was reluctant to bring it back because “Dad, your van is a chick magnet!”.
I checked the front yard security camera and sure enough, Joe’s truck was outside and our grandson Charlie was in the driver’s seat!
The drop-off was being completed!
Joe also called to find out where the van cover was, because it was going to rain in the morning. Since Joe had the car detailed, an oil change, and the air filters changed, he wanted it to stay dry!
A man on a mission!!!
We were so happy that we could loan the car to Joe and thus avoid two months’ worth of rental fees. The only downside was that the Lexus thought he had been demoted to a pickup truck!
We love our son, and we have ALWAYS been honest with him, even when he was a little boy.
Mary and I did look at the Tesla pickup truck knock-off but decided to wait for the van to come back home.
We danced from 6:30 pm until almost 8:30 pm and got to waltz, rumba, swing, and two-step to the cheers of the “young folks”.
Ronnie made an astute observation and asked why, when he plays for the old folks, we dance from start to finish of a song, but when he plays the hip-hop stuff, the youngsters get up, jump up and down, and wave their arms for only half the song!
As we walked out, we said goodbye to Ronnie and reminded him.
We headed home, and I used my iPhone to check that the house was warm. It’s going to be in the 40s tonight, but the house will be a nice 72!!
We watched two episode of “The Blacklist” before hitting the sack at 11:30 pm! I did not tell Mary that it has 218 episodes!
Summary: For decades, ex-government agent Raymond “Red” Reddington has been one of the globe’s most wanted fugitives. But then he agreed to work with the FBI to catch his “blacklist” of mobsters, spies and international terrorists — on the condition that he must work with profiler Elizabeth Keen. Red’s true intentions — choosing Liz, a woman with whom he seemingly has no connection — are unclear. Does Liz have secrets of her own? Red promises to teach Liz to think like a criminal “to see the bigger picture,” whether she wants to or not.
