We had to be on our way to Newport Beach by 8:00 am because Maryi is going with Amy to another eye doctor. We finally got on our way about 8:10 am and made it to the doctor just in time.
After a relatively short visit, we returned home for a while and got ready to receive our cleaning team, headed by Miss Domilita. Just as they arrived, we headed out for two errands and a visit to my heart doctor.
The first visit was to a new (to us) Bank of America, so I could shake the money tree and get some green in my wallet. The moth was lonely! After that, we went to the Express Mail store where Mary mailed a care package to her daughter, Becky. It contained some of the things we were going to bring her on Mother’s Day weekend.
From there, we were off to the cardiologist for a heart tune-up, and the news was great for an older man—no need to see him for at least four months.
To the gym on Tuesday? Yup, we changed days because Mary is going with Amy to the various eye doctors. As we entered, the music stopped, and the trainers ran to get their torture tools, which included:
• Rack
• Iron Maiden
• Thumb screws
• Stocks
• Breaking wheel
• Branding irons
• Whips/scourges
• Manacles and shackles
• Dunking stool
• Tongue tearers
• Knee splitter
• Head crusher
• Gibbet cage
Many of these are associated with medieval or early modern punishment, interrogation, or public humiliation, though some are exaggerated or mythologized in popular history. Torture is illegal under international law and widely recognized as a severe human rights violation.
We first rode the stationary bikes for 30 minutes, and then the torture began. We escaped after an hour with our workout clothes ripped to shreds, but we managed to go to the market anyway.
Mary watches me closely to make sure items do not accidentally “fall into my basket”. Items like the basic food groups: cookies, cake, candy, pie, and donuts.
After shopping, we went home directly to unload, and Mary fixed a salad for lunch before going to her art class at 1:00 pm. But do NOT fear, I was left with a rather large “to-do” list which I attacked with vigor. I managed the first three items before she arrived home with her new artwork!
Mary is off to the art class!
I heard the garage door open and immediately hid the pie and cookies before she could spot them! Enter the artist, and with a loud “TA DAH,” I was presented with her latest. I immediately started suggesting names such as: Tank, Speed Bump, Scooter, Shell Shock, Turbo, and Professor Plod!
Then we went to our neighbor’s house to replace some outdoor lighting bulbs, only to find that the wiring from the power source to the right-hand side of the yard was faulty.
No! It is NOT a beached whale!!
We got two lamps to work, but failed with the others.
Derned concrete is hard on the head!
The lead from the power source is open somewhere!
Mary made meatloaf for dinner, and it was terrific. I’d love to say I helped, but mostly I watched TV while she heroically slaved away in the kitchen like a one-woman Food Network special. I did contribute, of course—by performing the highly technical duties of retrieving spices, opening things, and generally staying out of the way.
After dinner, we moved to the TV room and watched Yellowstone until Mary’s “sleeping noises” gradually became the main soundtrack. At that point, the Cowboys were losing badly to the snoring, so I declared the episode over and called it a night.
We were up early as we had an appointment near Hoag Hospital in Newport to see an eye doctor about Amy’s eye issue. We arrived early thanks to the GPS sending us down the 241/Jamboree, thus avoiding the 55 Freeway traffic.
After arriving, we went to the local cafe and had a coffee. We then met up with Amy and Joe, and the ladies proceeded into the doctor’s office. Joe and I giggled in the lobby!
We decided to go to the American Legion for lunch! We had our “normal” turkey club sandwich and shared it.
Yummy!
The view was amazing, and the weather was perfect.
Our table had a magnificent view.
The water and the breeze were calm today with a temperature of 74 degrees.
We are ready to go sailing!
On the way home, we saw a Snowy White Egret standing in a neighbor’s yard. He was standing there minding his own business. I got off a shot before he moved.
He looks like he is posing, but after blowing it up…
Look at his mouth carefully! He was starting lunch!
Salt, pepper, catsup, sir??
We have talent in the family. Becky sent a video of her performance! She is a regular Liberance!
We watched a couple of episodes of Yellowstone and got into season five. At 10:30 pm, we hit the sack!
The garden calls, and we answered. Off we went in a cloud of dust with clippers and pantyhose in hand! Say what?
Yesterday, we discovered several melons and squash that were getting big, some on the ground, saying welcome to the sow bugs, and some hanging on vines, ready to jump into the abyss.
Pulling out an OLD memory, we found a bag of pantyhose donated by Miss Susie (our workout partner) and, with a few snip-snips, converted them into welon holders. See below:
The cantelope is now safely off the ground, and even a champion sowbug high jumper could not reach it!
A closer examination reveals the knot at the bottom of the pantyhose holding the melon off the ground.
Watcha doing, melon? “Just hanging around!”
The spaghetti squash can get VERY heavy and break its own neck, then fall to the ground without support. This time, we made a hammock, tying one end to the metal support and the other around the squash’s neck, reducing the weight on the stem.
It looks weird, but it works!
We kept battling the garden jungle, trimmed about 90 gallons of greenery like suburban landscapers with a grudge, and yanked out the squash plants that had officially retired from producing. Now we’ve got more room to plant new things—and the garden has been warned.
Finally, around 3:30 pm, we called off the garden battle, hosed off the evidence, and started getting gussied up for tonight’s Golden Oldies shindig at the Elks with the Starlighters—because nothing says”classy night out” like going from yard warrior to dance-floor legend in under an hour.
Into the Silver Fox and off we went, arriving early and having a glass of vino before we began helping set up the affair. Vicky again did an amazing job of organizing the event.
We left the dance close to 10:00 pm, tired but happy, our hearts full from another beautiful day spent side by side Working together, dancing together, and sharing every little moment with my favorite partner in crime made it all feel wonderfully romantic.
Today is Saturday, and we have little planned! We had our coffee and headed to the yard to do some serious looking!
Zachary and his gang joined us around noon and brought us bean-and-cheese burritos for lunch. We all sat around for quite a while. Zack took a look at my network and pronounced it healthy, but suggested I run a hardwire from the router to the iMac to see if that gives it a boost.
I asked Zack for a hand to install a new Malibu light control/power box at Jeff’s house. The original power supply died, and Pam worried about the house being dark all night. Zack had it installed and wired up. I introduced Pam and Marc to Zack, and we toured the house (maybe we can buy it for the kids???)
All lit up and back to normal!
Before leaving, Zack did another couple of easy but heavy things to help us; I have resigned myself to overexertion. It is not easy to back off on something you have done your entire life, but old age makes certain things one must avoid!
We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening tinkering around the house. In the evening, we binge-watched “Yellowstone” until 10:30 pm and then hit the hay!
The temperature was in the mid-60s when we woke up, so the first thing I did was rush the trash cans to the curb like I was entering them in a last-minute parade—because, naturally, I forgot to do it last night.
We unwrapped Jeff’s “Malibu Lights” timer/power supply and carted it across the street. I am going to wait until Saturday and have Zack assist me with installing it. The box weighs 50 pounds and is hard to mount on the wall!
It was errand time! We went to the tailors to pick up Mary’s 50s Poodle Skirt, which got its elastic replaced! From there, we were off to Goodwill in our Grey Ghost (the Honda Van), which was stuffed with giveaways!
101,000 miles and it purrs like a kitten!
Since we were close to Benjie’s, we stopped for lunch, and I ate one-half of a corned beef sandwich and ALL of the root beer float! We stopped at the Laguna nursery after lunch to pick up an 18″ plastic saucer for the patio plants before going home.
That was one BIG salad!
Back home, we collapsed like overdramatic houseplants, rallied just enough to make ourselves presentable, then headed to Laguna for dinner—and finally to the Laguna Playhouse to see the Linda Ronstadt story. Robin joined us for dinner and the show!
Before we departed, Mary did some “inking” on her recent artwork! She added the clock pointing to 5:00 pm!!
Mary did some inking on the artwork!
Here are some quick trivia/fun facts about The Lumberyard Restaurant in Laguna Beach:
• Location: It’s on Forest Avenue in downtown Laguna Beach, close to galleries, shops, and the beach.
• Name origin: The name reflects Laguna’s historic lumberyard area/building roots.
• Vibe: It’s known for a casual-upscale, coastal Laguna feel—good for locals, tourists, and pre-/post-show dining.
• Cuisine: Classic American comfort food with seafood, steaks, burgers, salads, cocktails, and wine.
• Local arts connection: It’s conveniently located near Laguna’s arts scene, including the Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters area.
• Popular use: Often chosen for group dinners, date nights, happy hour, and visitors exploring downtown Laguna.
The Lumberyard is quite cozy, and I was so relaxed that I wandered next door to the Cracker Barrel to see what was happening.
Oops!
We had a wonderful dinner with Robin, Mary, and I going off roading while Jim and Vviky settled for the more mundane “Fish and Chips”.
Mary made a scientific selection for dinner
I went for the eclectic!
Apicy indeed!!!
Robin went to Europe!
The playhouse was only two blocks away, so off we went! The show began right on time, and it was quite good. “Linda” had a magnificent voice, and the five of us really enjoyed the show!
Linda Ronstadt is a legendary American singer known for her powerful voice and genre-crossing career—rock, country, folk, pop, Latin, and Broadway. She rose to fame in the 1970s with hits like “You’re No Good,” “Blue Bayou,” and “When Will I Be Loved.” Later, she celebrated her Mexican heritage with Spanish-language albums, including Canciones de Mi Padre. She retired from singing after Parkinson’ s-related illness affected her voice, but remains one of the most influential female vocalists in music history.
The original Linda in 1976.
Today’s “Linda” was looking pretty good!
The new “Linda.”
They played two sets, including many old favorites.
We had great seats.
We got a group picture courtesy of the security guard.
Just us!
As viewed with Vicjy’s comments!
Vicky got her picture with Linda!
We departed for home, and upon arrival, we all crashed! I thought I heard a noise in the kitchen, something like wine being poured into a glass. Mary’s Guardian Angel was imbibing!
We got our daily security report, complete with short videos of each event. Thank you, Google!
This morning I woke up the roosters! At 5:00 am, I was up, by myself, moving rapidly about the house collecting my electronic children, the tablet, the iPhone, and my eBook. I was off to the Lexus dealer for a 65,000-mile checkup! On the way there, I should have asked for an 83,000-mile checkup on myself!
The Silver Fox and I arrived at 6:30 am for a 7:00 am appointment, so we listened to the news. That was a mistake; the “news” makes me MAD and SAD. The utter incompetence of our government, augmented by the socialists, is ruining a great country. If we don’t rise, we will be the next Venezuela! God Bless Donald Trump for stepping up and confronting this cancer!
For example:
Some politicians are lining their pockets!!!
I sat in the car dealership for about three+ hours, but with my electronic companions, I was in good company!
The Silver Fox was being treated like royalty!
Around 9:00 am, I got a panic call from Mary.
Apparently, she had completely forgotten I had a car appointment. When she got up and made the coffee, she noticed the bathroom light was on and naturally assumed I was inside conducting important morning business.
Thirty minutes later, she knocked.
No Paul.
Then she began what can only be described as a full-scale husband-search-and-rescue operation. She scampered around outside, thinking maybe I had wandered off to do some gardening. Then she searched every room in the house again, probably checking closets, corners, and any place a confused husband might hide.
She was just about ready to call the police and file a “Missing Husband” report when she finally decided to try my iPhone.
And there I was—safe and sound in the Lexus waiting room, sipping bad coffee and completely unaware I had been declared missing in action.
We made it home by 10:30 am, just in time to jump in the shower and get ready to go to the Elks! The gang began to arrive just after us,
Our reserved table was almost full!
George was in rare form.
Sandy did NOT know what a “Slap Coin” was, so we gave her instructions and sent her to Ronnie. It was fun to watch!
Getting a “Slap Coin” lesson from Ronnie.
We headed home, and we invited Geri to join us for cocktails on the patio. She paints with Mary, and they live about a block away. Mary prepared stuffed mushrooms, onion dip, a cheese platter with crackers, baby pickles, and a veggie tray. We popped open a bottle of wine and sat down to visit for a couple of hours.
It’s nice to have friends!
Dinner with Geri at home
During the visit, I received a text from Amy showing that Charlie had formally accepted his selection at Cal Poly Pomona.
Here’s some Cal Poly Pomona trivia:
• Full name: California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
• Nickname: Cal Poly Pomona or CPP
• Mascot: Billy Bronco
• School colors: Green, gold, and blue
• Athletics teams: The Broncos
• Motto/approach: “Learn by Doing,” shared with other Cal Poly campuses
• Campus roots: The campus sits on land once owned by cereal magnate W.K. Kellogg
• Horse legacy: CPP is known for its Arabian Horse Center, tied to Kellogg’s famous Arabian horse ranch
• CSU distinction: It is one of the polytechnic universities in the California State University system
• Rose Float tradition: CPP works with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on the famous Cal Poly University’s Rose Float, one of the only student-built floats in the Rose Parade
• Hospitality program: The Collins College of Hospitality Management is one of the best-known hospitality schools in the country
• Campus size: CPP has one of the largest campuses in the CSU system, with lots of agricultural land and open space
• Famous landmark: The old CLA Building was one of CPP’s most recognizable buildings before its demolition
• Farm Store: The Farm Store at Kellogg Ranch sells produce and products connected to CPP’s agricultural programs
Grandson Charlie made his choice!
We watched “The Children Were All There”. We finally hit the hay at 11:00 pm.
We were up and ready to go, but since we stayed away from the gym, we had to work out at home.
After getting dressed and planning the day, Mary was confused. I assisted her!
Did I say that? YUP, Then I ran for the backyard!
Mary made an appointment with Dr. Bill for 11:00 am. Dr. Bill took care of my toes, and now I can walk much more easily.
Since we were already in Newport Beach, we figured it would be practically irresponsible not to swing by the American Legion on Balboa Island—home of a turkey club so good it deserves its own membership card. Mary upgraded her meal with a bowl of vegetable chicken soup while I dove headfirst into their clam chowder. And naturally, to keep things classy (or at least hydrated), we wet our whistles with a little wine.
Sipping wine and watching the boats go by!
It was a bit cool, so we sat inside, but the large windows made it easy to see what was going on. The wind was making all the flags wave wildly!
Another month and sitting outside will be more popular.
Returning home, we headed to the garden to do some serious harvesting for our dinner. Peas, squash, green beans, and berries were in abundance. We sent a big bag of veggies home with Domi and her crew, who came to clean today.
I stopped to have a brew… You know, a Diet Coke.
Part of the visit to the garden was to untangle the string beans from the whirlygigs. The green beans grow so fast that within a day or so, they encircle and stop the whirlgigs unless you keep them pulled away and trimmed.
Spin baby spin, keep those pesky birds away!!
Our resident peapicker was hard at work filling her hat with peas. In the U.S., especially during the 1930s Dust Bowl era, “peapicker” was slang for migrant laborers who traveled to harvest crops such as peas and other vegetables in places such as California. It’s strongly associated with the workers depicted in The Grapes of Wrath.
My Little Peapicker is hard at work!
My hat runneth over! The corn and cucumber plants shaded us, so we used our hats to collect the veggies.
The ten-gallon hat was full to overflowing!
“If you pick ’em, you shell ’em”—apparently that’s not just a saying, it’s a legally binding farm contract. Mary and I spent 45 minutes popping peas like two green-thumbed assembly-line workers… and somehow ended up with one large bowl of peas and a newfound respect for frozen vegetables. Tonight’s reward: steamed peas alongside steak and sweet potatoes—because after that much labor, dinner better feel earned.
We had fun shelling the peas and trying to keep them from popping out onto the ground.
Shelling the peas reminded me of the past when I would shell peas, and Micky Mouse, our daddy Chihuahua, would wait on the floor for the occasional pea to fall. He would chase them and pounce on them.
“You can drop all the peas you want!”
After my fingers started to get numb, I went to Amazon and located an automated pea sheller, but Mary asked where we would put it. It seemed like a good idea!
An automatic pea sheller is basically a tiny farm machine that does what your thumbs were doing—just faster and with fewer complaints.
Here’s the basic process:
You feed the pea pods in: Fresh pods go into a hopper or tray at the top.
Rollers grab the pods: Inside, there are usually two rubber or textured rollers spinning toward each other. They pull the pods through while squeezing them just enough.
The pod pops open: The pressure splits the seam of the pod, and the peas get pushed out—without crushing them (assuming the peas are ripe and the machine is adjusted right).
Peas and shells separate: The peas fall into a collection tray, while the empty pods/hulls are pushed out the other side or into a separate bin. Some larger commercial machines use screens, airflow, or rotating drums to separate everything more efficiently.
The pea pod is on one side, and ready to eat peas from the other!
We called Dianne and asked her to join us for dinner as we had a LARGE steak, loads of peas, and two beautiful sweet potatoes. She accepted, and we went to work setting up the patio for an al fresco dinner.
When she arrived, the girls did a garden tour.
Following the red brick road!
While they were visiting the garden, I finished the table and got the steak ready to go!
The flowers are courtesy of Bonnie!
I tried something new with the steak. I patted it dry and then poured kosher salt on both sides. Salting a steak before cooking enhances flavor, improves texture, and ensures a superior crust. It acts as a “dry brine” when applied 40–60 minutes in advance: salt draws out moisture, creates a brine, breaks down muscle proteins, and is then reabsorbed, resulting in a more tender, evenly seasoned steak.
The pan was 550 degrees when the steak was added! It gave us a great crust!!
We had our evening wine and then a great dinner. As the Sun went down, the temperature dropped, so I went inside and got “bankies” for the girls. We stayed outside for another 30 minutes!
Friendship, a wonderful thing!
Mary spotted two ducks in the pool, and Dianne wanted to know what we do about that. I demonstrated by jumping up, running toward them, and quacking like a mentally deranged Daffy Duck, with my arm flapping. Dianne about fell over laughing, and fortunately, she did NOT have her camera ready!
Go away, no pooping in the pool!!!
Then it got dark, so we went inside because we were going to have vanilla ice cream and strawberries topped with whipped cream! It was too cold to eat dessert outside.
Dianne departed, and we cleaned up and then headed to the TV room, where we watched “Mother’s Day.” The movie kept us in stitches, laughing.
At 11:00 pm, we headed to bed! Today was outstanding.
Where did the sun go? Yesterday it was 85 degrees, and today we woke up to cold, fog, and the kind of weather that makes you question every life choice before coffee.
We were up at 5:00 am because we had to head to Long Beach for a surgical procedure to remove some nasty cancer from my neck. Nothing says “good morning” quite like fog, freeway traffic, and a medical team with sharp instruments.
We made it to Long Beach without any traffic, arriving just in time to go through the McDonald’s drive-thru about a mile past the doctor’s office/
The procedure went well, and I got wrapped up like a mummy. I was waiting for someone to ask, and I was going to tell them Mary grabbed me by the throat, but alas, no one asked.
We headed home so Mary could get ready for her painting class.
She took her car today, leaving me home alone with the house and the backyard—both of which immediately filed complaints. While Mary was off creating art, I stayed behind, creating slightly less mess, doing some straightening up outside, and pretending I had a clear plan.
Wine and cheese? What a wonderful combination.
When Mary got home, we did what any responsible adults would do after a long day: we immediately fled to the Tartan Room for Happy Hour.
Mary ordered sliders because, apparently, tiny burgers make you feel like you’re making sensible life choices. I went with shrimp-stuffed avocados, which is basically my way of saying, “I want to be healthy, but also dramatic.”
The Tartan Room is a laid-back lounge with steaks, cocktails, prime rib, and live music—basically everything you need to convince yourself you’re just “grabbing a quick bite” while accidentally turning dinner into an event.
We got access to the jukebox, and everyone enjoyed our selections.
We had a great booth right near the bar. Finally, I connected the jukebox, and we played our favorites.
We got the best table, being early is a good thing!
They were going to have country music this evening, BUT since we got there at 3:30 pm and it didn’t start until 7:00 pm, we opted to go home.
Enjoying life!
After arriving home, we watched some TV and crashed about 9:00 pm, a good time for us oldies but goodies!!
We are up early and listened to the weather report, it’s going to be 84 degrees! We will have time to do some gardening.
But first, we are going to race to Los Alamitos to see our dear friend Vicky and check on the progress she is making with her new patio replanting. It was a 22-mile ride with open freeways.
We took Vicky to our car, opened the trunk, and her eyes got really wide! We have three crates of pots for her garden. We have no more room, so we brought them into her backyard, and we could see the wheels turning.
We visited for about an hour before heading back home.
I suggested to Mary that I might do another Garden Naked Day, but after examining my suggested outfit, she said that if I did, people would be calling me “Shorty” from now on.
“Shorty??”
Mary assisted me in getting the moved plants set up with a drip line. I had to be on a ladder to route the hoses around the gazebo, and she did not want me doing it alone. She is a good helper!
Mary always sticks around when I am up on a ladder or stepstool.
It was getting hot, so I started cleaning up my mess and heading inside when she told me Santa had visited. She opened everything, and to her surprise, “Little Women” was finally here; she was a happy girl.
Better late than never!
Bonnie’s flowers exploded this morning, and they were in full bloom when we went inside.
Magnificent!
We sat outside for almost two hours, enjoying the view and deciding what to do in the yard tomorrow. After some TV, we crashed. The heat does us in!
