Oh No! It’s that dreaded Monday, meaning we must head to the gym for our bi-weekly bout with almost certain death. The workout! After a shower, I suited up in my Ninji black workout uniform and headed to the car. My trusty sidekick, Mary The Magnificent, is also clad in her workout uniform, ready to face severe punishment.
On our way out the door, I glanced at Mary’s coffee cup collection and remembered why I am so pleased with her controlling her urges to procure coffee cups. Our house could have looked like this if she had lost her self-discipline.
Did You Know? At the very end of an unpaved country road stands a cozy home, completely covered in coffee mugs. The owners, Avery and Doris Sisk, created their quirky attraction almost by accident. It started over 15 years ago with a box-lot of 15 mugs picked up at a flea market. It seemed like a good décor decision at the time, so they hung them up.More and more have been added over the years, and now, at least 20,000 mugs later, Avery and Doris have created a destination. Their cabin in the woods is dripping in cups and mugs of all kinds, the gates and fencing too. The Sisks are both artists and collectors, and they are welcoming and happy to show off their home.
If you catch them on the porch, you’ll likely be invited inside to see their other collections of dolls and police memorabilia, too, but it’s the cups and mugs that draw people in. Most have been collected by the Sisks themselves, but some have been added by the tourists who stop, something the Sisks encouraged. If you can find an empty nail, you’re welcome to leave one too.
We departed for the gym, a 1.1-mile trip down terror lane. I drove slowly to the stall, but alas, we arrived right on time. The trainers’ glistening teeth were at the front door, mouths dripping with anticipation of seeing our painful looks and blood-curdling screams.
We first mounted the stationary bicycles and peddled for dear life, thinking maybe, just maybe, if the trainers saw we did five miles in 30 minutes, they would go easy on us. Our plan did NOT succeed as we were snapped off the bikes properly at 9:00 am and thrown to the floor with a resounding “SPLAT”! For the next hour, our skeletons were stress tested and held together only by some connecting tissue.
The clock struck 10:00 am, and the trainers returned to their cages until the next victims arrived.
Mary and I stumbled into the market. After filling the cart with stuff, Mary began walking to the bagel house while I checked out and loaded the car trunk. I drove over to the bagel store known as the Coffee Grove! We had to put on the calories we just lost!
We love supporting small businesses.
Now, we had to get down to serious business. We admired our work in the front flower bed, and the new soil additive is obvious to the casual eye. With this new soil and the fertilizer we added, we should see magnificent growth in the next month!
Thank you, Bumper Crop!!
Japanese maples (Acer palmatum) are cherished ornamental trees native to Japan, Korea, and China, featuring over 1,000 cultivars developed since the 1700s. Known for their delicate, palmate leaves and stunning, year-round color changes, these small, slow-growing trees typically reach 6 to 30 feet, making them perfect for containers, gardens, and bonsai.
The maple trees are coming along slowly.
We adjusted the drip lines to ensure everyone had sufficient water.
Mary loves her sign.
On to the back yard, where Mr. Zucchini greeted us. Zucchini is a nutrient-dense, low-calorie summer squash (technically a fruit) that is 95% water, contains more potassium than a banana, and can grow to over 8 feet long. Originating in Italy, this fast-growing, versatile veggie is highly adaptable in the kitchen, with edible flowers and a high fiber content.
Our first zucchini will be in a meal, so, on and yes, I am really a fruit, botanically speaking!!
The melon patch is doing well, but we have to get them off the ground and into metal cages to keep any pests from enjoying them before we do! We will carefully trim them back and support the fruit on a wire trellis until they ripen.
Cantaloupe is a nutrient-packed, 90% water-filled, trailing vine fruit, technically related to cucumbers and pumpkins. Primarily grown in California, Arizona, and Texas, they are popular for their high vitamin A and C content, which supports eye and skin health.
See the baby cantaloupe?
The peas are almost ready to be picked. As you can see, thanks to the Sun, some of the insides have yet to mature.
The peas will also be in a salad soon, or perhaps in an astir-fry.
Yes, we do have flowers, especially around the backyard patio.
Springtime makes Mother Nature show off.
The glads are beginning to bloom, and within a few weeks, we will have purple all over the property.
We have gladiolas planted all over the property.
It’s 1:00 pm, and time for our daily pilgrimage to the doctor. We hardly ever miss an appointment anymore —I’m pretty sure we’re personally keeping at least 50% of the medical profession employed.
Today, my toes were the main event, since both big toenails had decided to go rogue and grow inward. Dr. Bill was ready for action with his trusty toolkit, and between poking, prodding, slicing, and dicing, he managed to restore peace, order, and comfort to the kingdom of my feet.
Since we were in Newport Beach and it was mid-afternoon, we headed to the American Legion for a sensible turkey sandwich and a glass of wine. Naturally, we both abandoned all discipline, went completely off the reservation, and ordered burgers instead.
We used to take time to synchronize our activities for the next few days, meaning Mary brought out the book of knowledge.
“Where is my burger?”
It was a beautiful day!
The American Legion is just three miles from Dr. Bill.
We saw a strange boat just north of the Legion; it was a dredge. It was removing sand and dirt from the bottom of the bay and placing them on a barge that would be taken to various locations for dumping. We looked up the dredging website and found out that the USACE began dredging the Federal Channels in early December 2025.
USACE conducts annual bathymetric (depth) surveys to determine the amount of sediment that has accumulated in the Federal Channels and to assess the overall need for maintenance dredging. The goal of the project is to dredge the channels to their federally authorized depths. Approximately 900,000 cubic yards of material will be dredged over about 10 months.
The City has been an active partner with USACE and has contributed to planning and design efforts, as well as funding a significant portion of the project through a cost-sharing agreement with the federal government. The County will also be contributing funds for the portion of the project within County tidelands.
Recent sediment sampling conducted between 2018 and 2024 was used to define sediment characteristics, enabling evaluation of disposal options. This sampling effort determined that most of the material was suitable for disposal at the federally permitted open-ocean location referred to as “LA-3”.
Dredging in the Main Channel and channel offshoots will expose sediment that has been determined to be unsuitable for open-ocean disposal and therefore requires an alternate disposal location.
To that end, the Lower Newport Bay dredging project will repurpose the unsuitable dredged sediment for the Port of Long Beach’s Pier G Slip Fill project, providing a unique and regionally beneficial solution. The material will be encapsulated within an existing slip to create additional storage for shipping containers.
We had to stop and see the dredge in action.
That’s one big mouthful!!
One bite takes a lot of sand out of the bay!
Returning home, we watched a “bang bang shoort ’em up” action movie and managed to stay up until past 11:00 pm!
I thought about the day and how much I enjoy being with Dr. Mary, and I ran across an interesting list!
It’s the truth!
Good night everyone, tomorrow is another day!!
