Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
“Grief is in two parts. The first is loss. The second is the remaking of life.” – Anne Roiphe.
Sue was truly amazing and made every adventure special, even though it was just a simple exploration of Laguna Beach. We are at Tivoli Too, about to have lunch before we begin a four-mile walk down to the beach and back. We would walk, stop to talk, and then walk for hours. Always hand in hand, unless the wheelchair was needed, we enjoyed each other’s company.
Sue often talked about passing early, as her father passed at the age of forty-six. I believed that, being eight years older, I would be the one to leave first. It is hard to believe that she is gone, but, as usual, she was correct.
Late afternoon and early evenings are tough, as this was “our time of the day”. I know well what the term “empty” means these days, but thanks to a fantastic support system, things will eventually mellow out.
I sure would love to hold her hand just one more time and look into her eyes and, without words, tell her how much I love her.
We are about to have lunch at Tivoli Too in Laguna.
Ugh! This morning was “paperwork day,” meaning sign up to be a candidate for the upcoming election, get some paperwork notarized, send some documents to Staples for printing, and other paper-related activities. I was about to become a member of the Los Alamitos Sewer District Board of Directors!
The gate folks called and asked to do some work on the gate before painting it, which I authorized. They will be here tomorrow, right after lunch, to make the installation.
The clock indicated it was 11:00 AM, and, therefore, it was time for the Grey Ghost and me to set sail for the Santa Ana Elks Lodge. We are meeting up with the guys for “boys’ lunch out”. We are all too old to go out at night!
Self-control was thrown to the winds, the pastrami appeared on my plate, and then disappeared. So did the one beer and one Vodka on the rocks. The four of us just blabbered, laughed, and giggled for the entire time.
Pastrami for lunch
It was Bad Mike’s birthday; he turned 132 in metric years. Below, he is doing his new skill for us, talking to purple pigs!
Mike did the spaghetti.
Bill also created a spa plate and a vodka. He is currently studying how to use an Alexa Show 8. Bob and I told him all the good stuff he will have to come up to speed on.
Bill and I did Vodka!
Bob surprised us and had a “Spa Plate,” which was perfect IF you were a bunny rabbit. A leaf of lettuce with a scoop of tuna in the middle and a carrot. OMG, he will waste away to nothing! He managed a smile, but it took all the energy he could muster.
All smiles.
Homeward bound, the Grey Ghost stopped automatically at the hardware store, where additional 1/4-inch washers were obtained so the gate could be aligned vertically during the installation. Then it was time for puttering, which means taking a walk around the house and doing the little things that are usually left undone, such as rolling up the hose and putting away the nozzles.
Robin came by at 4:00 PM; it is our “movie night,” and we go out to dinner. We went to Patty’s Place, and I was going to be a good boy and have a salad! She was a godsend during this period of my life.
We went to Patty’s Place and began with a Chardonnay in memory of Sue and a purple martini in memory of the color purple.
We arrive and are ready to drink.
Bacon-wrapped prawns are Robin’s favorite, plus she got her salad.
Shrimp and salad, an excellent choice!
On the other hand, the wicked bartender, Chuck, twisted my arm and forced me to order the swordfish. It must be said that the swordfish was out of this world, juicy as it could be. The twice-baked potatoes were also fantastic. There was a spinach salad on the plate, which made the meal “healthy”.
Swordfish was outstanding.
The swordfish looked as if it had been painted. It was grilled perfectly. While famous for its culinary value, the fish has high mercury levels and should be consumed only once a week or less. On the way out of the restaurant, I provided the owner with my temperature, courtesy of the swordfish!
So very juicy.
Delicious
We had a great evening, including desserts. Tomorrow, I had better hide the scales.
All smiles!
The cartoon version of Robin’s picture, via the iPhone, was impressive!
We arrived home by 7:30 PM and called George. He has been a friend since the 1990s. He watched the financial end of the IT department.
We could never figure out how he was able to drive an Asin-Martin, but he was skilled with finances.
We decided a movie would take too long, so Robin and I climbed onto the couch and turned on “Space Force” and pretty much went to sleep immediately. We woke up at 10:00 PM, looked at each other, laughed, and went to bed. KFI-640 is my noise of choice, and Robin said she crashed.
Another great day!
