{"id":97570,"date":"2026-07-02T11:10:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T18:10:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/?p=97570"},"modified":"2026-07-03T11:03:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T18:03:51","slug":"thursday-and-we-are-off-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/?p=97570","title":{"rendered":"Thursday And We Are Off Again!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Push harder; I still cannot see the scale!!\u00a0 Mary is always there to assist me!<\/p><\/div>\n

Another busy day began!\u00a0 After coffee and our high-level morning strategy meeting\u2014also known as”figuring out what we forgot to do yesterday”\u2014Mary headed to the showers to prepare for Girls Night Out.<\/p>\n

While she was busy becoming even more beautiful, I reported to the patio for my own transformation: from an ordinary husband to an amateur irrigation specialist.\u00a0 I juggled two hanging plants, wrestled a drip line up the patio post, and somehow convinced water to travel into baskets on purpose.<\/p>\n

At this rate, I’m basically becoming a plumber\u2014just without the license, the truck, or any idea what I’m doing.<\/p>\n

We moved the table inside the house and set up for Saturday’s main event before taking off to the Elks.\u00a0 The whole time I was working, I was thinking about how much I enjoy my life.<\/p>\n

\"\"

After careful consideration, I have decided to keep Mary around!<\/p><\/div>\n

The Elks were only six of us today.\u00a0 Iris and Will, George, and Bob Z!\u00a0 We enjoyed lunch, and I even went off the reservation and tried their teriyaki chicken bowl with veggies, a nice change!<\/p>\n

On the way home, we stopped by Manchurro Farms on Newport Blvd and grabbed twenty pieces of fresh corn.\u00a0 Now, except for the ice, we are ready for Saturday’s cooking fest!<\/p>\n

\"\"

We also got a flat of strawberries,s which will disappear quickly!!<\/p><\/div>\n

We headed home and spent the rest of the afternoon getting ready for Saturday.\u00a0 And by”getting ready,” I mean Mary worked while I conducted a very important two-hour field study on the patio chair, testing the effects of beautiful weather on a tired man.<\/p>\n

The results were conclusive: sunshine, fresh air, and a comfortable chair will knock me out faster than a lullaby and a warm blanket.<\/p>\n

Around 5:30 pm, we saw Robin coming into the backyard from the side of the house.\u00a0 Apparently our Ring Doorbell’s battery went flat!<\/p>\n

We talked for a while, and Mary showed off her latest diamond paintings.\u00a0 We then headed to Rogrido’s Mexican Restaurant, where we delighted in sampling their menu.\u00a0 I was not fooling around; I went for the chili verde.<\/p>\n

Here’s some chile verde trivia:<\/p>\n

\u2022 “Chile verde” means “green chile” in Spanish, but it usually refers to a stew made with pork and green chiles.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The green color typically comes from tomatillos, green chiles, cilantro, and sometimes lime.<\/p>\n

\u2022 It’s especially popular in the American Southwest, particularly New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and California.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Traditional versions often use pork shoulder, because it becomes tender after slow cooking.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Tomatillos aren’t green tomatoes\u2014they’re a different fruit, related to the gooseberry, with a tart flavor.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Common chiles used include Anaheim, Hatch, poblano, jalape\u00f1o, and serrano.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Hatch green chile is famous because it comes from the Hatch Valley region of New Mexico.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Chile verde can be served as a stew, in burritos, over rice, with eggs, or smothered on enchiladas.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The heat level can vary a lot depending on the peppers\u2014some versions are mild, others are very spicy.<\/p>\n

\u2022 In New Mexico, people often ask “red or green?” when ordering chile sauce.\u00a0 If you want both, you say “Christmas.”<\/p>\n

We got a lot of comments about our outfits being patriotic!<\/p>\n

\"\"

Just us, decorated for the season!<\/p><\/div>\n

After dinner, we called Nick and Layla, and Mary showed them how to download some paperwork, convert it to .pdf format, and upload it to another online application.\u00a0 The kids are moving to a larger, less expensive apartment closer to their work, and they had to provide some information in .pdf format.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Then it was time for the pool because it was a balmy 93 degrees\u2014also known as Florida preheat.”<\/p>\n

Robin had forgotten her swimsuit, so naturally, being the thoughtful gentleman I am, I offered her one of mine.<\/p>\n

She turned me down flat, and honestly, I have NO idea why.\u00a0 I mean, whowouldn’tt want to spend the evening in a slightly stretched pair of men’s trunks with questionable elastic and a mysterious sunscreen stain from 2017?<\/p>\n

\"\"

What the heck is that in our pool?<\/p><\/div>\n

Robin got a close-up, and here we are singing “Splish Splash”.<\/p>\n

\"\"

45 minutes of floating is really relaxing.<\/p><\/div>\n

After the dunk, the three of us sat by the fire and proceeded to solve all the world’s problems.\u00a0 Unfortunately, no one from the world was there taking notes, so they remain unsolved.<\/p>\n

We looked up at the sky and could see exactly one star, which felt a little stingy.\u00a0 Curiosity got the better of us, so Robin grabbed my iPhone and opened an app called SkyView.\u00a0 I pointed it at the lone bright object, and the app immediately informed us that our \u201cstar” was actually Venus.<\/p>\n

So not only did we fail to solve the world’s problems, but we also misidentified a planet\u2014a big night for science.<\/p>\n

Sitting there by the fire, I thought a lot about my dad, who would have been 120 years old.\u00a0 I found myself wishing he could see me now\u201482 years old, happy, healthy, surrounded by people I love, and still learning the difference between a star and a planet.<\/p>\n

Not bad for a guy who just got dunked and lived to tell about it.<\/p>\n

Dad is sitting in my Aunt Opal’s house, and an old picture of his parents is on the wall behind him!<\/p>\n

\"\"

Dad was an amazing man!<\/p><\/div>\n

The three of us headed to the TV room and watched the last three episodes of\u00a0 The Last Ship before toddling off to night night.<\/p>\n

Another good day!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Another busy day began!\u00a0 After coffee and our high-level morning strategy meeting\u2014also known as”figuring out what we forgot to do yesterday”\u2014Mary headed to the showers to prepare for Girls Night Out. While she was busy becoming even more beautiful, I … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[227,235,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dining-out","category-elks","category-family"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=97570"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97570\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97592,"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97570\/revisions\/97592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=97570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=97570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=97570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}