![\"\"](\"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/wp-content\/dailydiary\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-04-22-001.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
What is Ouchday, you ask?\u00a0 It’s the day\u2014or days\u2014we head to the gym for a little thing called a “workout.” I prefer to call it a sweat session, muscle mayhem, cardio catastrophe, or a full-blown pain parade.<\/p>\n
Today, I drew the wildcard: Antony.\u00a0 He’s the chief pain giver, and as the owner, he makes sure the staff distributes the suffering evenly and efficiently.\u00a0 No one escapes Ouchday unbruised, unbothered, or un-sore.<\/p>\n
At the sound of the gong, indicating it was 10:00 am,\u00a0 I bolted out of Anthony’s office with three teeth loose, my toupe on backward, and both shoes on the wrong feet!\u00a0 Antony did ask a final question!<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/wp-content\/dailydiary\/uploads\/2026\/04\/pix-1994-650x219.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Once my eyes started to focus, I pointed the Silver Fox toward home, where I resumed my ongoing feud with” The Bird.” This feathered little menace keeps building nests all around the house, and I keep playing the role of reluctant demolition crew.<\/p>\n
He picked a corner that was nearly impossible to reach, and when I finally tried to evict him, the tiny varmint came screeching straight at me like he owned the place.\u00a0 I answered with my trusty Red Ryder BB-Gun and sent his tail feathers into retirement.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/wp-content\/dailydiary\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-04-22-012-650x650.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
He was still flying, so later this afternoon we’ll have another round and see who blinks first.<\/p>\n
After our coffee, we walked through the garden making our list of chores.\u00a0 The roses have gone completely feral.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/wp-content\/dailydiary\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-04-22-002-650x488.jpg\")
They thrive in the 1.5 cu ft fiberglass lantern, and the wheels make them easy to move around.<\/p><\/div>\n
We are eating our own artichokes, and they appear to have moved from the oll-around planter to the bed without any trouble.<\/p>\n
Here are a few artichoke trivia facts:<\/span><\/p>\n Reaching for the sky!<\/p><\/div>\n My amazing partner in crime joined the expedition, making mental notes about what will be in the next meal from the garden.<\/p>\n I kept seeing spots before my eyes.<\/p><\/div>\n The berries are coming along nicely.\u00a0 \u00a0They love living in their own bed because they thrive on acidity, so we fertilize them with berry food to keep the pH low.<\/p>\n Just a few more weeks, and we will be walking and picking for a month!<\/p><\/div>\n The orange tree is getting ready to ripen.\u00a0 Although I have been eating the pre-ripe oranges for almost a month, I like them sour.<\/p>\n The tree is loaded, and on Saturdays, our neighbor’s gardener comes.\u00a0 I go next door and pick off the other side.<\/p><\/div>\n I am being hailed as it is time to go to the hair salon, where we both get fixed up.<\/p>\n At noon, we headed off to Huntington Beach for a visit to the hair salon.\u00a0 We got there a little early, so we wandered next door to the Black Trumpet for a glass of wine and an appetizer\u2014because apparently we believe in arriving for grooming well-fed and mildly buzzed\u00a0 \u00a0The barkeep and manager, Mary, spotted us right away and made sure everything came out quickly, which was perfect, since a thread was already holding together our patience after driving on the freeway.<\/p>\n We got a text from the kids, they will be at the house before 7:00 pm!<\/p>\n Two weeks sailing and seeing the United Kingdom, they are ready to some home.<\/p><\/div>\n We again walked in the garden, our favorite pastime!<\/p>\n The color seems magical.<\/p><\/div>\n The reds are so red they probably light up at night!<\/p>\n The vining food we started using is working.<\/p><\/div>\n Right on time, Bob and Robin come through the front door.\u00a0 We actually walked them through the veggie garden using a flashlight.\u00a0 We opened some champagne and celebrated their being back.<\/p>\n The resident champagne bottle opener at work.<\/p><\/div>\n The kids headed home in their car (which they left with us), and we headed to the TV room with our mineral water bottles in hand.\u00a0 We watched a series for about two hours and headed to bed.<\/p>\n What is Ouchday, you ask?\u00a0 It’s the day\u2014or days\u2014we head to the gym for a little thing called a “workout.” I prefer to call it a sweat session, muscle mayhem, cardio catastrophe, or a full-blown pain parade. Today, I drew … Continue reading \n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/wp-content\/dailydiary\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-04-22-003-650x488.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/wp-content\/dailydiary\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-04-22-004-650x867.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/wp-content\/dailydiary\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-04-22-005-650x867.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/wp-content\/dailydiary\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-04-22-007-650x488.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/wp-content\/dailydiary\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-04-22-008-650x522.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/wp-content\/dailydiary\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-04-22-008a-650x838.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/wp-content\/dailydiary\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-04-22-009-650x488.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/wp-content\/dailydiary\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-04-22-009a-650x488.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/wp-content\/dailydiary\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-04-22-009b-650x868.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/wp-content\/dailydiary\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-04-22-010-650x871.jpg\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"