T-1 And The Pace Increases!

Posted on Wednesday, November 26, 2025 by Paul

We were up early and made a “to-do” list:

  • Go to the gym
  • Go to the hair parlor
  • Go see Chef Marie to check on dinner
  • Stage the house for tomorrow’s festivities!

Into the mouth of danger I marched, knowing full well my poor little body would be subjected to untold agony, and I began with two one-pound dumbbells and graduated to 120-pound leg presses.  They know my condition, so I was allowed time to rest between sets.

We escaped with our lives (barely) and headed to the safety of Ralph’s Market so the trainers couldn’t find us.  I am so slim now (10 pounds) that I hid behind a display of pogo sticks, and they missed me.  Mary pranced down the aisle, singing Christmas tunes and wiggling to the music; the trainers were afraid to interrupt her.  The trainers departed, and we were safe.

We went home, had a small bite to eat, and then zoomed to Beach Blvd and PCH to get our ears lowered!

After the makeover, I sneaked into the car so the ladies would not chase me.  I would have put a bag over my head, but I had to drive home.

We did a fifteen-minute pit stop before heading to Marie Calendars for tomorrow’s vittles.   We returned with two large boxes and two large bags of goodies.  Oops, we also have a selection of fresh pies.

The parking lot was full, and a large 18-wheeler was distributing the goodies to everyone.

Once home, the staging/scheduling begins.  With dinner at noon, we backed off according to Marie’s instructions.  The turkey and ham go into the oven 1t 9:15 am.  We put them in their pans, racks, and wrapped them today.  We placs them into the outside refrigerator so tomorrow they go diredctly into the 325 degree overn

 

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Today Things Began To Look Up!

Posted on Tuesday, November 25, 2025 by Paul

I can hardly wait to get my hands on the carcass!  It’s homemade turkey soup for several days.  We bought two complete dinners for ten, one turkey and one ham!  Since we have eleven coming, we will have Thanksgiving dinner for several days!

Did You Know?  Turkeys are intelligent, social birds native to the Americas known for their distinctive calls and nearly 360-degree field of vision.  They can be fast, short-distance flyers, live up to 10 years, and communicate through a variety of calls and by changing the color of their heads and necks to reflect their emotions.  There are two species: the wild turkey and the ocellated turkey, and domesticated turkeys were initially bred by indigenous peoples in Mexico as early as 800 BCE.

We began to worry about seeing the doctor again, even though today was a good day.

Mary graphically explained the process to me!

Mary took off in a flash with the Silver Fox, leaving a trail of dust and a magnificent display of sparks.

While Mary was gone, I had a burst of energy.  I even did a load of wash, made the bed, restocked the bathroom with paper goods, put away the kitchen table tools, and did a lot of other small chores while Mary was relaxing at the watercolor class.

Upon her return, I put on my dark glasses and prepared myself for Mary’s next work of art to be unveiled.

p.s.  I added the “Merry Christmas” at the bottom!

We stayed home the rest of the day and puttered between movies.  Mary put the final touches on her needlepoint work.

We watched Jussaic World: New Beginnings, which is a sequel to the original.  “Jurassic World New Beginning” refers to the 2025 movie Jurassic World: Rebirth, a standalone sequel to Jurassic World Dominion.  The film centers on a team that travels to an isolated island research facility to extract genetic material from three colossal dinosaurs for a medical breakthrough, only to find themselves stranded alongside a civilian family.

Yes, we jumped out of our seats a couple of times.   The movie was done at 11:15 pm, and so were we!

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Monday Means A Forced March To The Gym

Posted on Monday, November 24, 2025 by Paul

Sixty long minutes, stretched and pulled from all directions, left me exhausted.  That goodness, the staff at PEAK PERFORMANCE in Orange are such professionals.   They know which buttons to push and which buttons to leave alone.  My mid-section is still fragile and will be for another month.

After the gym, we walked to Ralph’s Market and filled the basket with essentials.  Mary had a list, and I used my eyeballs; when I see something I want, I toss it into the basket, and Mary does not see it until the checkout stand.  I am sneaky that way!

In the afternoon, I walked around the garden before going to the doctor.  My weight loss and constant tummy pain were getting to me.  Mary worked her magic and got a 2:00 pm appointment.  The doctor said to eat more calories, eat six times a day, and don’t drink with a meal, wait 30 minutes.

We decided to get a CT scan and wait two weeks.  If things have not improved, we will return to the surgeon who did the work.

Returning home, we watched a couple of movies.  Our favorite tonight was Christmas Above the Clouds.  Christmas Above the Clouds is a 2025 Hallmark movie starring Erin Krakow and Tyler Hynes, premiering on November 8, 2025.  It’s a modern adaptation of A Christmas Carol, with Krakow playing a workaholic CEO who meets her ex (Hynes) on a Christmas Eve flight to Australia.  During the flight, she is visited by three spirits who show her the past, present, and future.

We finally hit the sack around 11:00 pm.  It was a good day!

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Sunday Was A Rest Day

Posted on Sunday, November 23, 2025 by Paul

Rest

My recovery is much slower than I thought!  We rested all day Sunday, doing miscellaneous chores around the house.  Mary kept busy getting everything ready for Thanksgiving; she is tireless.  I was not feeling too well.

Mary made meals all day since I am supposed to eat six times a day, and since I am 179.6 pounds, I need to eat.

We watched several movies before going to bed.

 

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Another Grey And Dreary Day

Posted on Saturday, November 22, 2025 by Paul

Think about it!!

We woke up to grey skies and cool temperatures.  After making coffee, we hit the office to get the Christmas event coordinated.  So far, and we are NOT complete yet.  We are still filling in the blanks with Christmas events.

 

It was a sad day because we had to say bye to Jeff, our neighbor, who is moving into a 24-hour care facility.  His pulmonary disease has been getting worse.  He is moving to a location about a mile from his daughter, about 20 minutes from our home.  We will make visits as often as we can.

It was a strange feeling; I felt hungry and wanted a hamburger.  Mary suggested the Elks since she can get soup and a glass of vino, and I can get the hamburger (Dox Special) with a Diet Coke.   We watched part of the Oregon/USC game and called Joe to see how his household was doing.  Joe went to USC while Amuy went to Oregon.

We took a nap afterwards since our tummies were full and finished off the day with two movies from TCM, Irma La Douce and Cactus Flower.

We were in bed at 10:00 pm!

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Another Rainly Day

Posted on Friday, November 21, 2025 by Paul

We jumped out of bed and hit the showers, as today is another gym day.  We need to get the muscles working and chase those pesky calories away.  I have attained 182 pounds as of this morning, and all my old clothes now fit; no longer do I have to “stuff myself” into my tux, and the cumberbun no longer slips down around my knees!

The owner of the gym, Antony, took care of me today.  I mentioned that my lower back and shoulders were giving me fits.  He applied his mighty fists to the appropriate spots and an hour later, I walked out of the fitness center upright and whistling a tune (the tune was Old Man River).

We popped by the market, but I left my phone (and the electronic list) at home as we got the essentials: eggs, Arnold Palmer juice, and milk!  The situation will require an additional trip to the market tomorrow.

Ralph’s market redecorated for the holiday with a theme of “Turky-ish Market”.  Oh my, what did we buy?

After returning home, we stayed close and watched the rainstorms come and go.  An hour of sun followed by an hour of heavy rain; it was a real show!

For an unknown reason, I was feeling puny today, perhaps leftovers from the last two days of activity.

Mary fixed a nice dinner, and we discussed the telephone call from Bonnie, which involved some unexpected news.

Tonight we did something different!  Instead of the TV, we went ot he family room and read our books.  We spent two hours engrossed in our books, which was very restful and calming.  Clive Cussler, along with Dirk Pitt, was taking on the bad guys.  My mind comes alive and sees images of what they write about.  I got cold when the heroes jumped into the ice water, and I lurched forward when the bad guys aimed the machine guns in our direction (Clive, Dirk, and me).

We hit the sack around 9:30 pm and had a full night’s sleep.

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The Rain Is Hiding Today

Posted on Thursday, November 20, 2025 by Paul

We woke up to a bright sunny day…. and then…

The sun was hot, and the birds were flying backwards to see where they had been!  It looked like it hadn’t rained in a month.  We messed around in the office and then got ready to go to the weekly Girls Night Out at the Elks.

We brought out the talking and dancing turkey

In case you wondered, the turkey is in the center, between us!

After two hours of laughing and giggling, we came out, and the day had gone grey!  The clouds disappeared. The rain was threatening us, but no rain yet.

We stopped by CVS pharmacy, which was closed, and then filled the gas tank with GoGo juice.  Finally arriving home, Mary went to the kitchen, and I took a short nap.  These outings take a lot of energy, something I have little of these days!

At 3:00, our insurance agent popped by to finalize the transfer of my health insurance to another UHC policy.  The one I had must have been too good, so the company did not renew it.  The new one takes effect 1/1/2026.

We had such a great lunch that I was not hungry at dinner time; that’s a great way to keep me at or under 185 pounds!

We got the headcount for Thanksgiving at ten, but alas, we bought enough food for 25, thinking Joe and Zachary would be joining us.  Now we need plenty of plastic and aluminum wrap to send food home with our guests!

I think we have a pie for each person.

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An Interesting Day

Posted on Thursday, November 20, 2025 by Paul

Today was a solemn event as we traveled via limo from Orange to Hollywood to inter David Reidy at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

We had to get gassed up for the trip!

We departed after filling up with gas!

The trip was about 45 minutes, and we pulled up in front of the mausoleum just before noon.  We had Dianne and eight of her closest friends.

Packed like sardines.

We pulled up right in front of the mausoleum.

Each area had a name.

Judy Garland’s remains were moved from New York to L.A. at the wishes of Liza Minnelli and, family.  Judy Garland’s remains were moved cross-country to a mausoleum intended as the resting place for her daughters, Liza Minnelli and Lorna Luft, and other family members.

We took some photos before setting up the display case with some memorabilia.

Sisters…. Sisters….

The girls went to work arranging things.

Setting up the display took several people.

That was a lot of work!

Our work is done.

The essential picture was placed in front of the display.

David and Dianne are in Hollywood.

The employees sealed the case, and it looked fantastic!

Ready to be sealed up.

A beautiful lady with beautiful flowers.

Complete with flowers.

The Hollywood Sign was easily seen from the entrance to the mausoleum.

One can see the HOLLYWOOD sign to the East.

We jumped in the limo and headed to Miceli’s famous Italian restaurant, home of the stars.  We had a delightful lunch

In business since 1949, 75 years.

The inside of the restaurant was decorated to the 9s.

To one of David’s favorite restaurants.

Cianti bottles were hung from the ceiling in every corner of the establishment.

We were almost alone today, but we arrived between lunch and dinner.

It took almost two hours to get home because we hit heavy traffic on all the freeways.   We took Dianne home since her ride was going to Garden Grove.

After arriving home, we watched a quick movie and then hit the sack.  We were pooped.

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Today Is Watercolor Day!

Posted on Tuesday, November 18, 2025 by Paul

I am expecting something like this….

We worked in the office, and Mary sorted out all the medical bills from the last several months.  That was quite a task!

She got ready to go painting around 10:30 am and headed out the door with her supplies at noon for the 1:00 pm class.  While she was out, I got ready for tonight and finished off the Starlighters Website.  When she returned, we had another masterpiece!

As Mary says, “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.”

Mary is getting better and better every week!

Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? No, they already have names.

What’s a reindeer’s go-to cleaning product? Comet.

Today was the 42nd anniversary of “A Christmas Story,” which we will be watching again for the 42nd time.

Forty-two years ago, I was just 38!

At 4:15 pm, we headed down the 55 toward South Coast Plaza and the Seagerstrom Performing Arts Center.   We met up with Vicky and Jim and had a light dinner (to stay awake during the performance).  MY taste for alcohol is still gone, so I had an Arnold Palmer!   The lamb lollipops and poached pear were just right.

After dinner, we walked across the street to the Seagerstrom Theater to see Shucked.

We dined at the Silver Trumpet!

Shucked is the brand-new, Tony Award-winning musical comedy full of clever puns, catchy songs, and a whole lot of heart.  Whether you’re a Broadway fan, a comedy lover, or just in need of some feel-good fun, Shucked will have you grinning ear to ear.

This hilarious and audacious farm-to-fable musical is about the one thing Americans everywhere can’t get enough of: corn!  Shucked proves that sometimes tearing down a few walls rather than building them is the only way to preserve our way of life.  This genuine original is turning musical theater on its ear and offering a kernel of hope for our divided nation!

We stopped at the giant corn cob for a photoshoot!

The backdrop is a giant ear of corn!

We had four seats, two aisle apart.  Each of the seats was perfect.  Just far enough back to see the entire performance, we had Rows C and E!

Settled in for a great show!

We stopped for a group picture on the way out and discussed the play on the way to the restaurant to get our cars.  GREAT FUN!!!

The four of us always have fun!

It was fun to drive home and try to remember all the puns we were given during the two-hour performance.  We crashed as soon as we got home; tomorrow is a bigger day.  We are going to Hollywood in a limo!

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Rain Rain Rain

Posted on Monday, November 17, 2025 by Paul

That’s me!

I must admit, the weights were plastic, and I forgot to wear my thong.  We are both getting back into shape because, as we depart the gym, we both complain about sores and aches.

We stopped by Ralph’s Market and did some shopping.

The remainder of the day, we stayed inside, out of the rain, and worked in the office and watched TV.  Cabin fever is beginning to set in!

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