{"id":96738,"date":"2026-05-31T10:52:57","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T17:52:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/?p=96738"},"modified":"2026-06-02T08:29:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T15:29:10","slug":"today-is-another-family-activity-shopping-and-eating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/?p=96738","title":{"rendered":"Today Is Another Family Activity; Shopping And Eating!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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We were up around 8:00 am, by which time Mark had already launched himself toward the co-op to meet up with Joe.\u00a0 Meanwhile, Colleen, Mary, and I held a very important board meeting around the table\u2014mostly dedicated to solving the world’s problems and “shooting the bull” with zero actual progress.<\/p>\n

By 10:00 am, we decided it was time to become presentable to the public, so we all headed for the showers.\u00a0 Big day ahead: we’re going shopping!!\u00a0 Hide the credit cards!<\/p>\n

Of course, we walked in the garden, and I introduced Mary and Colleen to my newest creation, blue oranges.\u00a0 \u00a0I am going to call them either “Blue-tiful Disaster<\/em>” or “Blue-berry with Commitment Issues<\/em>“.<\/p>\n

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Magnificent!!!<\/p><\/div>\n

I could NOT resist taking one inside and cutting it open on the kitchen counter!<\/p>\n

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We are getting ready for an exciting day at the Spring Boutique!\u00a0 With just a $5.00 charitable donation at the door, we explored a vibrant marketplace featuring a variety of small local businesses.\u00a0 The girls discovered unique treasures, including jewelry, trendy clothing, delightful candles, delicious baked goods, stylish home decor, personalized items, and much more.\u00a0 We invited Donna, Amy, Robin, and Colleen to the event.\u00a0 Bob and I will attend the bar next door.<\/p>\n

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First stop: the Elks.\u00a0 Bob and I settled into the lounge, enjoying what we foolishly believed would be a peaceful break while waiting for the girls to return from their shopping expedition.<\/p>\n

Robin and Mary arrived right on schedule… but not to join us.\u00a0 They made a precision strike on our wallets, announced that Phase One of the shopping mission had been a success, and promptly launched Phase Two.\u00a0 Bob and I were left guarding the table, wondering whether to report our wallets missing or accept our role as the expedition’s financial sponsors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Amy does the “Amy Smile.”<\/p><\/div>\n

After dinner, we all headed to the OC Mining Company for a steak dinner.\u00a0 \u00a0 High upon the hill overlooking Orange, we had a bird’s eye view while consuming large quantities.<\/p>\n

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Amy and Colleen.<\/p><\/div>\n

Robin and Bob joined us for dinner.\u00a0 Robin was tired from shopping, and Bob and I were half in the bag from sampling various Elk wines.<\/p>\n

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Robin and Bob<\/p><\/div>\n

The only way I can describe Mary is fiesty!\u00a0 Do we have fun or what?<\/p>\n

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Just us!<\/p><\/div>\n

Down the table was the “bald boy”, commonly known as Joe, searching for his favorite raw fish and rice.\u00a0 We told him to look no further; we sent him a can of tuna-flavored cat food and two straws (the closest thing we could find to chopsticks).<\/p>\n

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Mount Baldy!<\/p><\/div>\n

The end of the table was laughing, but we know not at what!\u00a0 We have suspicions.<\/p>\n

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Alex gets along well with the old folks; we are proud of him!\u00a0 In two years, he will be off to college.<\/p><\/div>\n

I ordered shrimp cocktail, not realizing these critters could have eaten half the fishing boats in Long Beach Harbor.\u00a0 I passed them down and watched them disappear; the shrimp, not the people.<\/p>\n

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My oh my!!\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n

Why is shrimp cocktail often served hanging around the rim of a glass?\u00a0\u00a0Answer: It was designed to be easy for guests to grab while standing and socializing, making it a popular hors d’oeuvre at parties and cocktail receptions.<\/p>\n

Being with family is one of life’s greatest blessings.\u00a0 It’s in the laughter around the table, the stories shared, the quiet moments, and the feeling of belonging that remind us what truly matters.\u00a0 Family gives us comfort, joy, support, and memories that stay with us forever.<\/span><\/p>\n

We are here: Left side:\u00a0 Robin, Bob, Fast Eddie, Amy Colleen.\u00a0 Center: Alex, and Right side, back to front: Mark, Joe, Dianne, Paul, and finally Dr. Mary.<\/p>\n

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The gang is all here<\/p><\/div>\n

Mudd Pie, Oh My!\u00a0 It was as high as an elephant’s eye!<\/p>\n

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Wow<\/p><\/div>\n

Then, Paul spots the dessert and wrestles it away from Dr. Mary (with little success)<\/p>\n

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The “chomp” heard around the world.<\/p><\/div>\n

With tummies overfilled, we headed home, only to hang out on the sofa with the TV on.\u00a0 Colleen and Mark took the Grey Ghost to the Honda dealer as it was acting up.\u00a0 They returned within a few minutes and crashed.<\/p>\n

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We were up around 8:00 am, by which time Mark had already launched himself toward the co-op to meet up with Joe.\u00a0 Meanwhile, Colleen, Mary, and I held a very important board meeting around the table\u2014mostly dedicated to solving the … 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":[5,24,17,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-96738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family","category-food-and-wine","category-friends","category-fun"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=96738"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96738\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96804,"href":"https:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96738\/revisions\/96804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=96738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=96738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=96738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}